Half year Report: Hits and Misses of 2018

Times have changed and so has Tollywood in a very big way. Telugu Cinema is racing against time. Other movie industries in our country are looking at us. There are a number of unique films which release every year and only a few manage to score box office success. Careers are made and broken in a flash and new talents come in with every release. 2018 saw some very good and bad films being made in Telugu cinema. We have exactly reached the halftime of the year and it is that time to figure out what clicked and flopped in this last six months.

Films which clicked

(in release order)

Jai Simha

Not many had hopes on this film as it was looked as the routine and old-school family drama. But the negative effect which was laid on ‘Agnyathavaasi’ helped this film find some takers. The film did decent business and recovered its costs and ended as an average at the ticket windows giving Balayya yet another Sankranthi hit.

Bhaagmathie

UV productions put bet big on the Anushka starter and she delivered what was expected of her. The film won decent applause and thanks to Anushka's popularity the film made good money. The film went into safe hands after the makers bagged a jackpot satellite and digital rights amount for the film leaving the makers in profits.

Tholi Prema

Varun Tej finally got a hit under his belt with the success of ‘Fidaa’. Continuing his winning streak, he moved ahead with romantic loved story called ‘Tholi Prema’. The music was a rage and the manner in which debutante Venky Atlrui showcased the same old love story in a new manner won hearts. BVSN Prasad made the film on a limited budget and it yielded him good profits.

Awe

This off-beat film won some good appreciation. It also got thumbs down from some critics. Still it made decent money considering its low budget. Nani as the presenter promoted the film in such a way that the film earned almost all its budget in the first weekend itself giving Nani his first success as a producer.

Rangasthalam

Here comes the real biggie. Many were eager to see what Sukumar had to do with a village drama and that too with a deglamorized Charan. But the subject of the film and performances were so strong that the film broke all sorts of records and became a non-Baahubali hit announcing the arrival of Ram Charan as an actor. The film made over 120 crore share which thrilled everyone. This is Biggest blockbuster of 2018 (so far).

Bharath Ane Nenu

This film needed to click and it did. The political potboiler made handsome money and became highest grosser in Mahesh Babu’s career and also stood as one of the all-time highest grossers in Tollywood’s history. It gave huge relief to Mahesh Babu who had seen many flops in the recent times.

Mahanati

No one was sure as to how this first biopic in Telugu ‘Mahanati’ would end up performing at the box office. But the content and Keerthy Suresh's performance was so strong that the film saw handsome profits and collected over 40 crores which was double its budget starting the new biopic trend in Telugu cinema. This is one of the biggest hits this year.

Sammohanam

Finally, the half year ends with a romantic drama which has been appreciated more by the A centre audience. Sudheer Babu found his mojo back this Mohana Krishna film slowly paved its way to becoming an average grosser. This is being appreciated for its writing, but business wise it is on just a safe project and nothing else.

Prominent films that bombed

Agnyaathavaasi

The year started with the massive release of ‘Agnyathavaasi’. As the film involved likes of Trivikram and Pawan Kalyan, it was sold for some unheard amounts. Trade predicted big numbers but shockingly, the film opened to a miserable talk disappointing many Pawan fans. Distributors faced heavy losses but the damage was done to the person who made the film, Trivikram. 

Touch Chesi Chudu

After a brief gap, Ravi Teja was happy with the way his film ‘Raja The Great’ performed at the box office. Next in line was ‘Touch Chesi Chudu’ which had a decent buzz before its release. The film opened to some tragic reviews sending the film crashing. Ravi Teja's angry cop avatar did not help the film one bit and this film gave the makers a hard time and did not even collect half its budget. 

Intelligent

Sai Dharam Tej was already going through a series of flops and Intelligent made it even worse. The film was rejected from the day its trailer was launched. Not even a song, scene or fight clicked in this Vinayak film which was produced by C Kalyan. Tej was heavily criticized for selecting scripts like Intelligent. The film didn't even run for a week and thereby dented a hole in Sai Dharam Tej and Vinayak's careers.

Kirrak Party - MLA

Both these films had promising heroes and at least an average kind of business was expected from these films. They were grandly promoted but things did not work well for them. As the heroes of both the films, Nikhil and Kalyan Ram found some luck in the industry, the business was done on a safe note. But these films ended as below average fares and disappointed everyone involved.

Chal Mohan Ranga

Troubles continued to chase Pawan Kalyan as the film produced by him Chal Mohan Ranga also bit the dust in a very bad way. The romantic entertainer was directed by Krishna Chaitanya who failed to give Nithin his much-needed hit. Naturally, seeing the names of Pawan and Trivikram who also penned the story, the film was sold for some good prices but things went haywire as the film flopped badly.

Krishnarjuna Yudham

Nani was in no mood to slow down until Krishnarjuna Yuddham happened. Seeing Nani's success streak, the film was expecting good openings and grand collections. In spite of Nani's dual roles, the film could not live up to its expectations and gave Nani his first flop in a very long time. 

Naa Peru Surya 

Perhaps, one of the biggest disappointments of this year so far is undoubtedly Naa Peru Surya. Vakkantam Vamsi made his debut with a different subject but a lot was riding on Allu Arjun. But he too could not save the film from going down. Just a week after its release, it was declared as a big flop pouring water on Allu Arjun's sincere efforts. Though the Allu camp cleverly sold the film off, the distributors suffered badly.

Nela Ticket

Ravi Teja's miseries continued with the release of Nela Ticket. This film which was being made by hit director Kalyan Krishna had no buzz at all. The release saw the horrible situation for the film and left the producers in massive losses. Ravi Teja got his part of his remuneration but the hit he was looking for evaded him.

Officer

No one had a single doubt about this film and all were clear that it would be a flop and create a bad name for Nagarjuna. But with the film failing to cross the 1.5 crore mark, it was an insult to Nagarjuna as the film became biggest flop in his career ever.

Other Flops

Apart from these films, movie likes Na Nuvve, Rajugadu, Jamba  Lakidi Pamba, Mehbooba, Ammamagari Illu, Kanam, Gayatri and Rajinikanth's Kaala suffered heavily during their release time sending many actors in a lot of tension career-wise. 

More than the hits, many films ended up as losses. But Telugu cinema is a place where things keep happening. Rest of the year is filled with not many biggies but some handsome films which are being made by talented directors. Let's hope that these films will pour in more money and make merry for all those concerned.