2025 Half-Year In, Tollywood’s On Winning Streak?

Over 100 films were released in six months. Only around ten of them actually worked. That’s the raw report card of Tollywood’s first half of 2025. Big stars, big money, big posters, but not enough substance. The idea that high budgets equal high returns clearly didn’t hold up. The audience seems tired of noise. Films like Sankranthiki Vasthunnam, Court, Thandel, and Kannappa are the few that made a mark, and they did it with solid content, not hype.

It all started in January with Game Changer, expected to shake up the season. It didn’t. Only Nandamuri Balakrishna’s Daku Maharaj and Sankranthiki Vasthunnam brought some relief. February had its savior in Thandel, where Naga Chaitanya finally hit the ₹100 crore mark. March saw Court, a small film with no stars, quietly win big, and Mad Square followed with decent reception. The big-budget crowd? Mostly silent.

April was almost a blackout month. Films like Jack, Odela 2, and Arjun Son of Vyjayanthi came and went without much talk. Even Priyadarshi’s Sarangapani Jathakam didn’t help. Things picked up slightly in May with Nani’s Hit: The Third Case and Sree Vishnu’s Single. June gave Tollywood its biggest breath of air with Kannappa, Vishnu Manchu’s long-awaited film finally landed right. Meanwhile, Kubera did well in Telugu but couldn’t hold up in Tamil.

Ten hits in six months isn’t a streak, it’s a warning. The films that worked didn’t follow formulas. They either struck a chord or told a story worth watching. If the second half of the year brings more of that, Tollywood might recover stronger. If not, it’s just more noise, and the audience isn’t buying it anymore.