HYDERABAD, India – As the calendar flipped to June, the May box office numbers for the Tollywood film industry have left much to be desired. The month, typically a lucrative period for the southern Indian cinema powerhouse, failed to deliver the blockbuster hits that producers and theater owners had been hoping for.
According to industry analysts, the lack of major Telugu-language releases, combined with stiff competition from Bollywood and Hollywood films, resulted in a disappointing showing for Tollywood over the past four weeks. “May is usually a month where we see the big-budget, high-profile Tollywood films hit the screens, but that just didn’t materialize this year,” said film trade expert Ramesh Kumar.
One of the few bright spots was the continued strong performance of the action thriller “Maharshi,” starring superstar Mahesh Babu. The film, which released in early May, has managed to cross the 100-crore mark at the box office, making it one of the few Tollywood successes of the month. However, beyond that lone standout, the rest of the Tollywood slate failed to capture the imagination of moviegoers.
Highly anticipated films like the comedy “Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy” and the period drama “Syeraa” both underperformed, unable to match the hype that had surrounded their releases. “There was a real lack of compelling content from Tollywood this May,” noted entertainment journalist Smita Sharma. “The audiences seem to have been drawn more to the bigger Bollywood and Hollywood releases, leaving little room for the local films to make an impact.”
Industry insiders point to a number of factors that contributed to Tollywood’s box office woes in May. The rise of digital streaming platforms, offering a wealth of content options at home, has begun to eat into theatrical revenues. Additionally, the intense heat and humidity typical of the Indian summer months often keep moviegoers away from cinemas.
As the monsoon season approaches and the prospect of cooler weather looms, Tollywood producers are hopeful that the tide will turn in their favor in the coming months. With several high-profile releases slated for the latter half of 2019, the industry is banking on a stronger second half of the year to make up for the disappointments of May.
