The next big pan-India hit: Will Pushpa 2, Devara, and Kanguva follow Kalki 2898 AD's box office success?
PTC News Desk: Since its release on June 27, director Nag Ashwin's enormously successful pan-Indian science fiction film Kalki 2898 AD has brought in over Rs 700 crore at the box office. This Prabhas juggernaut is unstoppable, and as it expands its theatrical run, it breaks more box office records. However, Kalki 2898 AD might just be the start of this year's south Indian cinema phenomenon.
On July 12, Kamal Haasan's film Indian 2 directed by Shankar will be released. Following that, a number of high-profile Tamil and Telugu films are scheduled for release. It's interesting since the content appears to be strong and spans a variety of genres (at least on paper).
Kollywood’s releases up next
The first half of 2024 wasn't particularly successful for the Tamil film industry because of a lot of damp squibs at the box office. However, because there are a lot of star releases in the second half of 2024, the Tamil public is looking forward to some thrilling flicks. As the follow-up to the 1996 hit film Indian, Indian 2 is widely anticipated and will be released on July 12. Additionally, Dhanush's flick Raayan will open in theaters on July 26.
Dhanush is both the writer and director of Raayan, which is his second feature film following the 2017 smash blockbuster Pa Paandi. Considering that it's an action thriller, there's a lot of excitement surrounding this film. The Pa Ranjith-directed film Thangalaan, starring Vikram, has been delayed multiple times before its August 15 release.
This historical action drama centers on gold mining in British colonial America. With Pa Ranjith directing, you can be sure that this will be a unique picture, even though some people might say it has similarities to previous movies (think KGF).
Given that both Ajith and Thalapathy Vijay only make one movie a year, there is definitely a lot of hype and buzz surrounding them whenever a Thalapathy Vijay film is released. On September 5, Vijay's film GOAT (Greatest of All Time), directed by Venkat Prabhu, is scheduled for the Ganesh Chathurthi weekend. Meanwhile, Ajith's film Vidaamuyarchi, helmed by Magizh Thirumeni, will be released on October 31 for Diwali.
Kerala and the Hindi belt have recently been part of Vijay's market, and it is hoped that GOAT would appeal to viewers all over India. On October 10, Rajinikanth, the Kollywood superstar, will release Vettaiyan, a movie primarily aimed for Tamil audiences.
All eyes are currently on Suriya's fantasy period action movie Kanguva, which was purportedly produced on a Rs 300 crore budget. With a massive pan-Indian distribution planned, this is reportedly one of the most expensive Indian films ever shot, starring Bollywood stars Bobby Deol and Disha Patani.
With Kalki having recently caught the globe by storm, director Siva has gone all out to make this a grand show on screen, and Kanguva may too. Remember to mark October 10.
Jr NTR and Allu Arjun will vie for BO success
The Telugu cinema industry has played a significant role in producing successful pan-Indian films, particularly those directed by SS Rajamouli. Similar to Sukumar, many other directors have pursued this career path, and some interesting projects are in development for the second half of 2024.
With the phenomenal success of Kalki 2898AD, Rebel Star Prabhas has returned with a bang, but his colleagues in the Telugu cinema industry are not far behind.
Allu Arjun, whose 2021 film Pushpa brought in over Rs 320 crore, is getting ready for the December 6 release of Pushpa 2. Additionally, filmmaker Sukumar has assured us of a bigger and better movie than the first, one that he believes would perform even better at the box office.
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In the meantime, Jr. NTR has Janhvi Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan in the action drama Devara, directed by Koratala Siva. This is going to be his major release across India after Rajamouli's RRR in 2022. Devara, which was produced with a budget of Rs 300 crore, has the potential to earn significant amounts of money at the box office, even though RRR is said to have generated close to Rs 1,200 crore worldwide.
All in all, with a major pan-Indian picture released almost every month from July to December, Indian viewers are in for a real visual treat.
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- With inputs from agencies
