Why Tollywood Is Losing Its “One Rupee”: Bunny Vasu Explains 4 Reasons

Tollywood is currently facing a serious discussion between producers and theatre exhibitors. Both sides are arguing about how movie revenues should be shared. Exhibitors want the percentage system to continue, while producers are supporting the rental system for movie releases. As the debate continues, producer Bunny Vasu shared an important message on social media that is now creating buzz in the film industry.

In his post, Bunny Vasu explained that the real issue is not about sharing profits, but about the overall drop in theatre audience. He said, “The one rupee income has disappeared for everyone. Even big films have seen their income fall from one rupee to half a rupee.” He added that although movies are collecting hundreds of crores these days, those collections are not because more people are watching films in theatres.

“The collections are increasing mainly because ticket prices and other costs have increased. The average audience is slowly staying away from theatres. Putting more burden on the few people who still come to theatres and calling it huge collections is nothing but foolishness,” he said.

Bunny Vasu also mentioned that the situation for small films is even worse. “Small movies are now surviving on just a quarter rupee, and everyone is fighting over how to divide that quarter instead of understanding why the original rupee disappeared,” he stated.

According to him, both producers and single-screen theatre owners are facing losses. However, instead of blaming each other, the industry should focus on the real reasons behind the problem.

He listed four major reasons for the decline in theatre audience. The first reason is that heroes are taking too much time to complete films. “When stars do only one movie in two years, audience interest slowly comes down,” he explained.

The second reason is early OTT releases. Movies are arriving on streaming platforms within just 27 days, which is reducing theatre footfall.

The third issue is weak content. Many viewers now feel, “Is this movie really worth spending so much money to watch in theatres?” The fourth reason is the high food and canteen prices in multiplexes.

Bunny Vasu concluded by saying that three out of these four problems are completely in the industry’s control. He questioned whether fighting over percentages would help unless the root problems are solved first.