The first half of 2025 has been disappointing for Tollywood, the Telugu film industry, with only a few films doing well at the box office. While the Sankranti season gave a good start with two major hits, most films released after that failed to impress.
Among the few successful films were Sankranthiki Vachestunnam and Daco Maharaj, which released during the festive season in January. The former was a surprise blockbuster, crossing ₹300 crore and setting a new record for a regional film. The latter also entered the ₹100 crore club. These successes, however, were not enough to carry the rest of the year.
Big-budget projects that followed could not live up to expectations. Game Changer, featuring Ram Charan, opened strong but was later marked as a flop due to low final collections. Despite claiming ₹186 crore on its first day, the film failed to recover its huge investment. Some losses were covered by profits from Sankranthiki Vachestunnam.
In February, Thandel received good response, and in June, Kubera also did fairly well. Apart from these, very few films made a mark. Out of the many films released over six months, only a small number managed to bring profits to producers.
A few re-releases and dubbed films showed decent performance, but original Telugu content mostly underperformed. Even with better planning, many projects faced delays or failed to connect with audiences.
Fans are now hoping that the second half of the year brings stronger content and better results at the box office. With several big releases lined up, the Tollywood is looking for a much-needed boost in the coming months.