Tamil cinema's dismal
box office performance
this year has been discussed and debated quite a lot. On the one hand, hyped big-star vehicles like Ayalaan, Captain Miller and Lal Salaam, which came out earlier in the year, failed to meet expectations. On the other hand, among the films that were released more recently, there were quite a few that struck a chord with the audience.
Even though the year started on a dull note, the success of
Aranmanai 4
Garudan and
Maharaja
has given the industry hope as we enter 2024’s second half, which is packed with one big release after the other. Given that we are six months into the year, we look back at how the industry has performed in the first half of 2024. Industry experts opine that
Tamil cinema
is starting to show signs of recovery at the halfway mark, just like our films reaching the intermission point with a high!
Touching upon the underperformance of Tamil films, distributor and exhibitor Tirupur Subramanian shares, "Tamil cinema has been in bad shape. In the last six months, there haven't been any hit films in Tamil except Aranmanai 4 and, more recently,
Garudan
and Maharaja. Also highlighting these three films is Rakesh Gowthaman, proprietor of
Vettri Theatres
. "When it comes to profit-making. the best this year has been Aranmanai 4. From producer to distributor, that film was profitable for everyone. All these three films performed very well in comparison to their budgets, and had a good run across Tamil Nadu," he says. But he also states that the industry had a rather dry time during the initial months, during which time other language films and re-releases acted as a saving grace. "After Ayalaan and Captain Miller, it was a dry time. Manjummel Boys and Ghilli re-release were helpful at the time. If Ghilli hadn't performed so well, then it would have been a total washout," adds Rakesh.
Lack of quality content is the main reason for films underperforming, opines Tirupur Subramanian. "Box office collections will improve once good films are released," he states, adding, "Since communication has become easier, everyone is watching a film after checking whether the content is good." On what will happen to the industry if we don't put out good films, he shares, “If the content doesn't improve going forward, there is a possibility theatres will close next year."
To avoid such a situation, it is crucial to put out films that resonate with the audience, say trade experts. Talking about the kind of movies that audiences prefer watching nowadays, Sudhan says, "All movies that have worked have had good content or were family-based. Earlier, we were doubtful whether people would come to watch
content-based films
. Now, Tamil audiences come to theatres to watch content-based movies, irrespective of the language.
On a concluding note, Rakesh shares, "If we give the audience genuine content-based films and entertainers, they will turn the films into hits at the box office."
‘The films that did well were unexpected hits'
Reflecting on films that did well this year,
Sudhan Sundaram
, who produced Maharaja, opines, "The films that did well this year were unexpected hits. There wasn't a formula and not just one type of film became a hit. The time of release and releasing without competition matter. If you take the movies that did well this year, there weren't any other content-backed films that hit screens in the week they were released.'
Garudan director
RS Durai Senthilkumar
shares, "Every year, approximately 200 films are released, of which 50-60 do at least average business. Even this year, there will be 50 films that do wall and 150 that don't. It's all about probability. I do agree that the industry hasn't had many films that broke even in the first six months, but maybe we will have many of those in the second half of 2024. The probability of success might be higher for the films that release in the next six months."
'Only films with positive ending succeeded'
Another intriguing factor common in almost all profitable films of 2024 is that they have all ended on a positive note, points out Rakesh Gowthaman. He says, "Films that ended on a positive note are the only ones that have succeeded. It is questionable whether sad movies will have a good box-office run now. Even the movies with tragedy that have done well, like Maharaja and Manjummel Boys, ended on a positive, non-depressing note. Also, other language films like Aavesham and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and a re-release like Ghilli did very well here and those were all entertainers." Sudhan agrees with this perspective and says, "People like it when they are given hope. There are no two ways about it."
