The first quarter of 2017 has just completed. If we analyze how Tollywood performed over these three months, one can see a declining trend with March being the worst month.
While January produced three hit films – Khaidi No.150, Gautamiputra Satakarni and Shatamanam Bhavati out of 10 releases, February produced two hits – Nenu Local and Ghazi out of seven releases. While distributors were feeling happy as 2017 started on a positive note, March came and hit them pretty bad.
As many as 20 films hit screens in March but there is not a single hit. Raj Tarun’s Kittu Unnadu Jagratha is the only film that almost reached the hit status. Notable films such as Dwaraka, Gunturodu, Chitrangada, Aakatayi, Lakshmi Bomb, Nenorakam, Ma Abbayi and others fell flat at box office. Puri’s Rogue has also joined this dubious list.
Distributors had high hopes and they invested big chunks on Pawan Kalyan’s ‘Katamarayudu‘, the only biggie released in March. The action entertainer however is on its way to become a huge disappointment despite the film’s good performance in the first week. Venkatesh’s Guru opened to decent response but given its genre, it may not set fire at box office.
Overall, March can be termed as a disastrous month for Tollywood. Distributors are now pinning all their hopes on Baahubali 2, which will hit screens on April 28. Interim, Mani Ratnam’s Cheliyaa and Varun Tej’s Mister are the two other notable films slated for release on 7th and 13th of April respectively.
Lets wait and see what April has in store for Tollywood.
