USA market for Telugu films has come crashing down in 2019. The future is not looking any brighter as well.
The end of ‘Movie Pass’ and the rise of Amazon Prime and other factors were the reason for the market going down. This year no biggie brought a profit of a single dollar to the distributors.
Buyers who bought the rights of Prabhas’s “Saaho”, Megastar Chiranjeevi’s “Sye Raa” and Mahesh Babu’s “Maharshi” had lost heavily their investments were huge.
2019 was a nightmare for the USA distributors. Even small firms didn’t mint much money. In the past, there used to be sleeper hits like “Pelli Choopulu” that had crossed $1 million.
But today, even middle-range movies with popular stars are struggling to achieve that mark indicating the market has completely collapsed.
Only three movies can be considered solid hits. Venkatesh and Varun Tej starrer “F2” was the most profitable film for all parties involved. Nani’s “Jersey” too had made some good profits.
Three solid hits
1. F2
2. Jersey
3. Oh Baby
Break-Even or profitable movies
Ram starrer ‘iSmart Shankar’ was released on a commission basis, it was not sold for any distributor and they made some good money. “Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya” is a surprise hit.
1. iSmart Shankar
2. Agent Srinivasa Athreya
3. Prati Roju Pandaage
Top 10 Grossers of 2019
Saaho $3,233,611 (disaster)
SyeRaa Narasimha Reddy - $2,608,115 (flop)
F2 - Fun And Frustration - $2,134,632 (blockbuster)
Maharshi - $1,891,129 (flop)
Jersey - $1,314,137 (Super Hit)
Oh Baby - $1,033,926 (Hit)
Gang Leader - $962,406 (Near Break-even)
NTR Kathanayakudu - $928,275
Dear Comrade $833,572 (flop)
Majili $773,083 (Break-Even)