2017, in numbers: how Kollywood fared this year

Tamil Cinema continues to be India’s most prolific film industry. With 20 of the 200 odd films turning profitable, the success rate (break even or more) has risen to 10% of total releases.

The top five hits of 2017 from the theatrical collection from Tamil Nadu and rest of the world are SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali 2, Vijay-Atlee’s Mersal, Pushkar-Gayathri’s Vikram Vedha, Karthi’s Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru and KV Anand’s Kavan.

There were four other super hits based on Tamil Nadu theatrical collections and other rights. They are Hiphop Tamizha’s debut Meesaya Murukku, Siddharth’s Aval, Gautham Karthik’s adult comedy Hara Hara Mahadevaki, Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Maanagaram and Arun Vijay’s Kuttram 23.

Taking into consideration its cost and return from theatrical distribution sales and other rights, some of them made profits while a few others managed to break even. These are: Aramm, Aruvi, Karuppan, Magalir Mattum, Maragatha Naanayam, Pa Paandi, Sathya, Sangili Bungili Kadhava Thorae and Thupparivaalan.

Vijay’s Bairavaa, Suriya’s Singam 3 and Ajith’s Vivegam were top grossers with good footfalls in theatres and had a terrific opening. However, they could not recover the high cost at which they were sold to distributors. Some of the other big-budget films which failed were AAA, Kaatru Veliyidai, Shivalinga and Vanamagan. Tamil cinema has to factor in its cost factor, as most Tamil films are going over budget and are not commercially viable.

Small wonders

Clearly, 2017 was the year of small films working big in Tamil Nadu theatres, especially the multiplexes in the three C’s — Chennai, Chengalpet and Coimbatore.

The success of films like Aruvi, Aval and Aramm clearly indicate that there is an audience for good content if it is marketed well. KS Mahalingam, distribution in charge at AGS Entertainment says, “One of the best things about this year was the success of middle and small segment films which went on to keep the investors happy. This comes at a time when big-star films struggled due to their high cost and delayed releases.”

Naganathan, the Kumbakonam-based film consultant and trade analyst says: “Salary of stars has to be reduced if their movies have to be profitable for the buyer. Another factor for profitability is films sticking to their release dates...that has worked well for Baahubali 2 (April 28) and Mersal (Deepavali).”

Sibi Sathyaraj, who produced Sathya says, “We made the film on a tight budget and it turned profitable because our content was strong and we had a strong distributor. Today the most important factor is good content, tight budgeting and completion and release within 120 days.”

However, producer G Dhananjayan says the industry went through turmoil this year due to strikes and cross fire between various associations. He points out, “It was a year of challenges for the industry. It faced three major strikes; first the Producer Council protested against the high charges levied by Real Image/Qube and the other one was against piracy in April. Immediately after that, the theatre owners association called for a strike against the imposition of GST and local taxes on June 30 and that seriously affected films such as Vanamagan and Ivan Thanthiran. Lastly, the entire film industry went on a strike against the local taxes imposed by Tamil Nadu Government in October, which lasted for a week.”

Another major factor which worked to the advantage of Tamil films is its growing overseas markets.
Taran Adarsh, India’s leading trade analyst says, “2017 has been the year of south Indian films in the international market with the phenomenal success of Baahubali 2, Mersal and a few other Telugu films. South Indian films are on a par with big Bollywood films in key markets like the US and Australia. The subtitling has helped as a lot of non-Tamil people watch Tamil films. It is a beginning of a new chapter as volume of business increases with Baahubali 2 opening in large number of screens this Friday (Dec 29) in Japan. 2018 is going to be an exciting year as newer markets will open for south Indian content.”