Eight months of 2024 have come to an end, and with 'Saripodha Sanivaram' releasing in the last week of August, the month is drawing to a close. This leaves only four months until the 2024 calendar turns over.
Let's take a look at the films lined up to hit the screens until December.
A dubbed film of Vijay titled 'GOAT' (Greatest Of All Time) is set to release on September 5th, but so far, there hasn't been much hype surrounding it, and not many are aware that a big-ticket film with Rs 300 Cr budget is coming up with this title. We have to see if any momentum builds towards the release time.
Coming to the direct films, on September 6th, Nara Rohit's 'Sundarakanda' is scheduled to release. Rohit's films tend to release coincidentally only when Chandrababu is in power. We need to see what the fate of this film will be.
On September 7th, the film 'Lucky Bhaskar', directed by Venky Atluri and starring Dulquer Salmaan, was planned for release, but it got postponed to October as per sources. However, we can say that this film is still in line to release this year.
Then comes 'Devara Part 1', the most anticipated big film of the year, releasing on September 27th. The only downside is Koratala Siva's name, as he scored a disastrous flop with 'Acharya'. But the pull factor is Janhvi Kapoor, who is debuting in Telugu cinema with this film. Like how "Mr Bachchan" banked on heroine Bhagyashree Borse, 'Devara Part 1' is banking on Janhvi's popularity as Sridevi's daughter. Apart from that, this is NTR's film after 'RRR'.
Another bad sentiment that is haunting the film is that Chiranjeevi himself once said that any film following a collaboration with Rajamouli tends to flop. He mentioned this in the context of Ram Charan and 'Acharya'. Going by that statement, 'Devara' is Jr NTR's film after Rajamouli's 'RRR'. We hope Chiranjeevi's statement does not hold true here.
After 'Devara', there are no major releases until 'Mechanic Rocky', starring Vishwak Sen, which is set to release on October 31st. Then comes Siddhu Jonnalagadda's 'Telusu Kada' on November 9th.
After this, there is no other major film until December 6th, when 'Pushpa 2: The Rule' is scheduled to release. Allu Arjun has openly announced that it is going to release on that date without any postponement, so we have to believe it for now.
This is the current state of Tollywood films this year, with no significant releases planned for the upcoming Dussehra or Diwali seasons, which are usually considered good times for film releases. Theatres should pin hopes only on Devara and Pushpa as other films mentioned may pull audience on content but not merely on star power.