While critically acclaimed films continued to release, many star film releases ensured a renewed momentum at the box office.
Published Dec 31, 2024 | 7:00 AM ⚊ Updated Dec 31, 2024 | 1:45 PM
Second half of 2024 salvages Kannada film industry's fortunes. (X)
In our half-year report on the box office and trends of the Kannada film industry, we noticed how it was all critical acclaim and bare minimal box office success that defined the first six months of 2024.
Fortunately, many star releases ensured a change in that narrative. The last three months particularly saw the momentum rise for what could be a more hopeful 2025 with packed film screens.
There has always been a narrative that more films from the big stars will also ensure more packed halls. In many ways, the last six months proved that, with big releases from stars attracting packed houses, sometimes even when the films didn’t really fare well in terms of critical acclaim.
Shiva Rajkumar
From Ganesh, Vijaya Kumar, Sriimurali and Dhruva Sarja to Shiva Rajkumar, Upendra and Kichcha Sudeepa, everyone seemed to have good opening weeks with their films, ensuring the net box office collections of the Kannada film industry saw an increase in the end in the collective pie representation in the Indian film box office report.
The tide changed with the back-to-back releases and successes of Bheema starring Vijaya Kumar and Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi, which starred Ganesh. Kannada film aficionados saw this as a memory similar to what they witnessed 18 years ago when both the actors struck gold and emerged as potential stars with Duniya (2007) and Mungaru Male (2007).
‘Bagheera’ is an action thriller. (X)
Following this, there was the release of Martin starring Dhruva Sarja. The film managed to get a good box office opening, but the reviews from both critics and fans were alike—they felt let down by the content. The film, after a good start, saw a dip and managed to collect only a fraction of its investment in its lifetime collections at the cinema halls.
Sriimurali’s Bagheera and Shivarajkumar’s Bhairathi Ranagal were the next big star releases, and both of them managed to woo audiences to packed cinema halls. The films turned out to be profitable to their makers.
December saw two of the biggest releases, UI and Max hitting the screens with just a few days’ gap between their release dates and yet both managed to score big opening weekends and battle it out for the highest-grosser of the year title.
Each year, there seems to be a good number of debut filmmakers who make their mark among cinephiles with different stories and narrative styles. This year saw a big increase in the same, with a whole host of fresh filmmakers, some maybe one or two films old, who charmed the audiences with their stories.
However, it is unfortunate to notice that most of these found better acclaim and fanfare after their release on the OTT platforms. With every release, social media is abuzz with fans who promise that they won’t do this to the next such release, but this seems to have become quite the habit, with good films finding better reception on streaming platforms.
Dheekshith Shetty in ‘Blink’ poster. (X)
The list of good films that did stand out include Blink by Srinidhi Bengaluru, Shakhahaari by Sandeep Sunkada, Kerebete by Rajguru Bheemappa, Ibbani Tabbida Ileyali by Chandrajith Belliappa, Laughing Buddha by M Bharath Raj, Murphy by BSP Varma, Moorane Krishnappa by Naveen Narayanaghatta, Bisi Bisi Ice Cream by Sahadev Kelvadi, Photo by Utsav Gonwar, Shivamma Yerehanchinnala, Family Drama by Akarsh HP, Roopantara by Mithilesh Edavalath, Kalapatthar by Vikky Varun, Hadinelentu by Prithvi Konanur, Koli Esru by Champa Shetty, Chilli Chicken by Prateek Prajosh and the anthology BTS.
The percentage of good films that did get people chatting about their different narratives and treatment saw an increase as opposed to the previous years.
While a bigger chunk of these managed to get a space on OTT platforms. Some of the highest critically acclaimed films like Photo and Shivamma are yet to find their way to any streamer.
On the other hand, a movie like Hadinelentu was made accessible to people for free on YouTube by the makers and it won greater acclaim ever since.
There are some actors who seem to be the breakthrough faces or names that have stood out. Here’s looking at some of those.
Yuva Rajkumar in ‘Yuva’. (X)
Rangayana Raghu, who was the lead in films like Shakhahaari and Moorane Krishnappa and also has been a part of some of the biggest films of the year since has reinstated his position among filmmakers and fans as to why he is one of the most trustworthy talents in the film industry.
Rukmini Vasanth continued her good run into 2024 with two hits in the form of Bagheera and Bhairathi Ranagal, where she managed to hold her own despite limited screen space in macho tales.
Ankita Amar in Ibbani Tabbida Ileyali, Roshni Prakash for her role in Murphy and Teju Belawadi for her roles in Laughing Buddha and Maryade Prashne were the other heroines who left a mark.
Among the male actors, Prabhu Mundkur found a renaissance with back-to-back good roles in Murphy and Maryade Prashne elevating him to the “watch out for” tag.
Yuva Rajkumar’s mixed-bag debut still had people noticing him. Aravinnd Iyer in Bisi Bisi Ice Cream, Shrunga BV in Chilli Chicken and Dheekshith Shetty in Blink are the other leading men who left a mark. Chikkanna managed to find a good solo outing as the lead actor in Upadhyaksha.
Among the technicians, Arjun Janya with his score in Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi and Charan Raj with his score in Bheema are the top contenders for the best album of 2024.
Dhruva Sarja in ‘Martin’. (X)
The year did see a bit of disappointment in the form of a few releases. Yuva starring Yuva Rajkumar was arguably one of the most publicised debuts in recent years, but the film did not manage to create the magic that one expected, with the makers especially positioning the debutant as the heir apparent to the throne that late Puneeth Rajkumar occupied. The actor managed to grab eyeballs, but the film didn’t quite work with fans.
Martin, that saw Dhruva Sarja in a double role was meant to be a double treat for his fans, who get to see him once every four years usually.
But the much-delayed film proved to be the first dud that the actor faced in his career thus far, with the subpar graphics being blamed as one of the biggest reasons for the same.
Yogaraj Bhat, Shivarajkumar and Prabhudeva together in Karataka Damanaka was meant to be a winning combination. But it has joined the list of one of the most disappointing films that 2024 gave to Kannada film buffs.
Ranganayaka that released at the same time brought together the superhit combinations of Jaggesh and late Guruprasad once again, and was another colossal disappointment.
(Edited by Sumavarsha Kandula)
