Powered by PS-I and Vikram, Tamil cinema had its biggest year at the box office in years, both in terms of collections and footfalls in 2022, but for small films, it was a disastrous year as just one out of 180 became a success.
Around the first quarter of 2022, there was a sort of panic in Kollywood. While Tollywood and Sandalwood were making waves across the nation with pan-Indian successes like RRR and KGF: Chapter 2, Tamil films were not achieving the success that they promised. Vijay’s Beast and Ajith Kumar’s Valimai helped bring in audiences, but with mixed reception, there was no euphoria around them, unlike their other-language counterparts.
Cut to the last day of the year, and Kollywood’s producers, filmmakers and the trade are jubilant over the windfall that 2022 has proved to be. “2022 has been the biggest year for Kollywood,” gushes producer Dhananjayan, adding, “In terms of box office, the industry has crossed a gross of Rs 2,000 crore for the first time. Out of 230 films, at least 30 films have been very commercially successful, which is a great percentage. So, everyone in the industry is thrilled about the kind of theatrical revenue that films have brought in this year.”
Part of the credit for this good showing goes to Mani Ratnam’s multi-starrer Ponniyin Selvan-I (PS-I) and Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Vikram, starring Kamal Haasan, which defied initial expectations and performed extraordinarily at the box office. “It is rare for the industry to have two record-breaking films released in the same year,” quips Nanaganthan, a well-known distribution consultant.
Dhananjayan states that every big film — made with a budget of Rs 25 crore and above — has become successful in 2022. “It doesn’t mean that they all succeeded at the box office,” he clarifies and elaborates, “Even though they might not have made money theatrically, with their overall business, they have given their producers good profits.”
The business model of films has changed this year, concurs Naganathan. “Most of the producers of star films are recovering their investment with the pre-release sales of satellite, digital and Hindi dubbing rights. The theatricals from Tamil Nadu are on top of that. So, producers are taking the risk and opting for a direct release through a major distributor, with the latter taking a commission of 10 per cent. And this year, this gamble has paid off for most of them,” he states.
No place for small filmsDespite all the jubilation, the market is extremely skewed towards big and medium-budget films, featuring stars. “Among small films, only one — Love Today — out of 180-odd films has become truly successful,” says Dhananjayan.
“People have started valuing their time and money so much when it comes to deciding what movie to see in the theatre,” feels producer SR Prabhu. “Earlier, there was a huge gap between high-quality content and people having access to watch it. This has changed in the last five years. They have numerous content available, giving them multiple choices. So, bringing people to the theatre needs higher energy and effort. Combination-driven films are working. For example, family dramas that have stars, like Don and Thiruchitrambalam, are working. On the other hand, Kanam was loved by those who had seen it, but could not succeed because people don’t have the time to take a chance and watch a film that does not have a star,” he says.
While small films used to do Rs 2-3 crore business previously, now, if they lack the pull factor, they hardly collect Rs 25 lakh, states Prabhu. “These days, a film either succeeds big or bombs miserably. This happens even with star films. A few star films with mixed response have done under Rs 5 crore this year; earlier, they would have done a minimum business of Rs 7-10 crore,” he informs.
“It has been a year of extremes,” says Naganathan, and adds, “For average or even above-average content, audiences are not ready to visit theatres.”
Why small films matter!Small films not performing well is not a healthy trend. It’s important for small films to succeed because that’s where stars are born. You fuel the industry when you make small films and make new stars. For a producer, when stars’ salary goes up, the amount of money they spend on a production becomes smaller. Then, they can’t experiment!
— Archana Kalpathi, creative producer of Love Today, in an interview to us in Nov 2022
Kollywood's biggest year, despite no pan-Indian successes“Tamil cinema got revived by Tamil films this year. This shows that we are not dependent on pan-Indian films. Only two pan-Indian films did great business here — RRR and KGF 2. Even Kantara did smaller numbers, compared to what it did in the north,” says Dhananjayan.
Direct release trumps MGThe makers of PS-I, Vikram, Love Today, Don, Thiruchitrambalam, Sardar, and Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal opted for direct release and earned profits beyond what they would have got if they have gone through the traditional MG (minimum guarantee) route. At the same time, the gamble did not pay off for producers of films like Cobra, Captain and Etharkkum Thunindhavan, who followed the same strategy, but had to face mixed reviews! “But the makers recovered their investment through the other rights,” says Naganathan.
In contrast, he gives the example of Valimai, whose producer sold the rights to distributors on MG basis. “Even if the film did good numbers for a February release, it was not profitable for the distributors who had released it, because they had bought it at a price that they would have given for a Pongal release,” he explains.
Theatre count goes up in TN!Bucking the recent trend of theatres closing down, more screens are coming up in the state. “We have had around 25 screens opening up in 2022, and in 2023, 30-40 more screens are expected to be opened,” says Dhananjayan.
2022, a year of records- Highest share for a Tamil film – Ponniyin Selvan-1
- Highest collection for a Kamal Haasan film – Vikram
- Highest collection for a Karthi film – Sardar
- Highest collection for a Dhanush film – Thiruchitrambalam
- Highest collection for a Sivakarthikeyan film – Don
- Highest collection for a Vijay Sethupathi film – Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal
- Highest collection for a film featuring a newcomer – Love Today
- Highest collection for a dubbed film – KGF: Chapter 2
- Highest collection for an English film – Avatar: The Way Of Water
Notable disasters at the box office - Varalaaru Mukkiyam
- Naai Sekar Returns
- Agent Kannayiram
- Naan Mirugamaai Maara
- Coffee With Kaadhal
- Kuruthi Aattam
2022 Trivia!- Mani Ratnam’s multi-starrer Ponniyin Selvan-I is said to have grossed Rs 210 cr in Tamil Nadu
- In August, Vikram became the highest grossing film in Tamil Nadu, breaking Baahubali: The Conclusion’s five-year record. And two months later, it was PS-I that wore the crown!
- Sivakarthikeyan and Vijay Sethupathi had both the highest and the lowest grossing films of their careers (Prince and DSP respectively) this year!
- Karthi had three hits this year, including PS1, Sardar and Viruman
- The footfalls for Love Today is almost equal to that of Vijay’s Beast and Sivakarthikeyan’s Don!
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