Pan-India Obsession Hurting Tollywood, Ticket Prices Driving Away Audiences

While stars and filmmakers continue to celebrate the success of pan-India films, some industry insiders are raising concerns about its long-term impact on Tollywood. According to Prasanna Kumar, General Secretary of the Telugu Film Producers Council, the trend that began with Baahubali 2 and extended through films like KGF, Pushpa 2, and Kalki 2898 AD has inadvertently hurt the Telugu film industry. “I’m not blaming any director or producer, but the pan-India craze has driven up production costs dramatically—from ₹80 crore for Baahubali to ₹500 crore for Kalki,” says Kumar. “To recover these investments, ticket prices have skyrocketed, which has led to a decline in viewership.”

He points out that viewership has fallen from 11% to 5-6%, largely due to steep ticket prices that now range from ₹100 to as high as ₹3,000 per person. “A family of four might need to spend around ₹12,000 to watch a single movie in theatres. That’s unsustainable for middle- and lower-income groups—it eats into their savings and daily expenses,” he adds.

Kumar also referenced recent remarks by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who advocated for more affordable ticket pricing and increased access to cinemas in smaller towns. “SRK gets it. High ticket rates are killing audience interest. He’s pushing for price cuts to win back viewers. The recent announcement by some theatre owners in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to shut down from June 1 is a signal. It may be an effort to force a rethink on pricing and revenue sharing.”

Actually, the underwhelming performance of several recent films outside Telugu-speaking regions, including Tiger Nageswara Rao, Das Ka Dhamki, Virupaksha, Skanda, Thandel, and HIT 3 also raised doubts around pan-India craze and its limitations. “Only a handful of Telugu films have actually resonated with non-Telugu audiences. We need to focus on making strong regional content first. If non-Telugu viewers appreciate it, that’s a bonus—not a guarantee.”

He further noted that even films featuring Tier-2 heroes are now being made with budgets as high as ₹70 crore, often including Bollywood actors and technicians. “All this, while Hindi dubbing rights have dropped from ₹40 crore to ₹50 crore that too for few big heroes. Yet, producers are still announcing new pan-India projects almost every other day, without assessing the actual market response.”