James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash, the much-awaited Hollywood big-budget film, has been released worldwide today. Because of the strong brand value of the Avatar franchise, no Tollywood films were released this weekend.
Avatar (Part 1) was a massive blockbuster and created a huge brand for the franchise. Avatar: The Way of Water (Part 2) was released with enormous hype due to the success of the first film. But it failed to match the content quality of Avatar Part 1. Still, because of the hype, the film earned huge box office numbers in India, especially in the Telugu states along with worldwide.
As a result, trade circles considered Avatar 2 a big success in India and Tollywood. But in reality, the film damaged the franchise more than expected, something the trade failed to recognize. Now, Avatar: Fire and Ash (Part 3) has been released today, but it is not carrying the expected buzz. The trade expected it to perform like a massive pan-India blockbuster, but the advance bookings are more like those of a medium-budget film.
Tollywood overestimated Avatar 3 and wasted a valuable release date. Films like Mowgli could have easily released today, but the makers avoided the date due to fear of Avatar 3, not Akhanda 2. Because of this, Mowgli released last weekend and faced a major impact, eventually failing at the box office.
Several films are scheduled for a December 25 release, including Champion, Eesha, Dandora, Shambhala, Patang, and Vrushabha, as they did not want to clash with Avatar 3. However, at least one or two of these films could have released today, as Avatar 3 is not a film that attracts all audiences and is releasing with limited buzz.
Actor Nandu’s Psycho Siddharth, scheduled for a January 1 release, could also have arrived today, but the makers avoided the date due to fear of Avatar 3.
Overall, due to overestimating Avatar: Fire and Ash, Tollywood has missed out on a strong release date.
