Tollywood, the Telugu cinema, has risen to another level in the last decade if we consider the box office prospects. However, if we talk about content, theater management, and footfalls, things are not at all right. Tollywood needs a reality check.
In recent years, 95% of the films are limited to weekends only, and they are failing to collect theatrical rents after the opening weekend, including pan-India films and big-star films. This is a very serious issue for the industry.
Tollywood in Crisis: Movies failing to collect theater rents after first the weekend
The producers or heroes say things will be better with one or two hits, but irrespective of box office results, the same scenario has been continuing for years.
The Telugu film industry needs to seriously think about ticket pricing, the OTT window, and, most importantly, they should have a proper estimation of a movie’s craze among audiences and its business value.
The biggest problem is that the business is being done as if every film will turn into a huge blockbuster. In reality, some prices cannot even be recovered despite a movie becoming a blockbuster.
Producers and Distributors need to review/check a film’s craze before they finalize the amount
The trade needs to analyze realistically, that if a film is average, how much can it earn; if it fails, how much can it recover; and if it becomes a blockbuster, what is the maximum it can achieve, and plan the base the business accordingly.
Telugu Film industry’s bigwigs need to do a reality check on the entire functioning of movies to save Tollywood.