In January, movies are typically categorized into those released before and after Sankranti, with the latter marking a significant period for major film releases. This pattern recurs annually, with the month witnessing a dominance of Sankranti releases, often led by notable films.
In the first week of January, films like "Raghava Reddy," "Sarkaru Naukari," and "Prema Katha" hit the screens. Unfortunately, these movies, designed for a one-week run, faced dismal outcomes, including "Sarkaru Naukari," featuring singer Sunitha's son Akash Goparaju as the hero. Despite possessing good content supported by director K Raghavendra Rao, its release timing seemed inappropriate.
Following these releases, the entire box office experienced stagnation due to heightened anticipation for Sankranti releases and certain controversies in Tollywood diverting audience attention.
The eagerly awaited Sankranti box office spectacle eventually opened grandly with movies like "Guntur Kaaram" and "Hanu-Man."
Both films generated significant buzz even before their official releases, with "Guntur Kaaram," starring Mahesh Babu, receiving extensive theater allocations in Telugu states.
"Guntur Karam," released on a massive scale, received negative reviews on its first day. Directed by Trivikram Srinivas, this high-budget movie featuring Mahesh Babu as the hero faced criticism from the hero's fans.
Simultaneously, positive feedback about the movie "Hanu-Man" also surfaced, diverting attention away from "Guntur Kaaram."
"Hanu-Man" received overwhelming positive reviews and was labeled a blockbuster. In the history of Sankranti movies, considering the collections relative to the budget, "Hanu-Man" stands out as the biggest success.
"Saindhav," Venkatesh's 75th film, released within 24 hours of "Guntur Kaaram" and "Hanu-Man" but faced widespread flop talk. The film, lacking the expected content for Venkatesh's fans and marred by excessive violence, failed to connect with family audiences.
"Naa Saami Ranga" served as the concluding entry in the lineup of Sankranti movies. Although crafted on a limited budget and managing to reach the break-even point, its fate might have taken a different turn if released during any other period, given its reliance on routine scenes, dialogues, and Keeravani's songs that failed to resonate with the audience.
"Captain Miller," originally slated for Sankranti but postponed due to tough competition, eventually released on Republic Day. Despite a favorable weekend release, the movie starring Dhanush failed to make an impact at the box office, joining the list of flops that included Hansika's "105" and three other films.
In summary, while various films faced mixed outcomes in January, "Hanu-Man" emerged as the only unstoppable blockbuster, dominating the month in entire India, as Hrithik's 'Fighter' in Hindi also was turned down by the audience.