Hanuman : South Indian film industry continues to dazzle audiences and box office earnings alike with captivating mythological films that not only draw the audience in but also produce massive box office returns. A recent trend shows an astonishing success of low budget mythological films.
With only an initial budget of Rs20 crores and released globally on January 12th, Telugu film “Hanuman,” with an amazing success that exceeded their estimates within 15 days, has crossed Rs250 crore mark globally – prompting its producers to announce an ambitious sequel named Jai Hanuman with an incredible budget of over Rs1000 crores!
Cinematic Saga: South Films Achieve Global Success
From Rishab Shetty’s adaptation of Bhoota Kola tradition in “Kantara,” or Kartik Keya 2, South Indian movies are not only winning hearts across India, but are garnering international acclaim as well.
Sumit Kadel, an expert film trade analyst, attributes ‘Hanuman”s success at the box office to its dynamic mix of faith, devotion, humor, emotion and action. According to him, this combination was what propelled its remarkable box office performance.
Taran Adarsh, another film trade analyst, believes South Indian filmmakers approach mythological films made on a low budget with sincerity and honesty compared to some high budget flicks such as Adipurush or Kartikkeya 2. As evidence of their success are Hanuman and Kartikeya 2, Taran Adarsh notes.
On January 12th, ‘Hanuman’ beat tough competition from three major releases featuring Teja Sajja and other leading stars with three movies hitting theaters simultaneously. Surprisingly, however, ‘Hanuman’ succeeded as an unexpected blockbuster movie and crossed Rs250 crore mark within 15 days; leaving big budget films far behind it in its wake.
Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi’s star-studded romantic comedy ‘Mary Christmas,’ and Dhanush’s Captain Miller both released on the same day, failed to match up to ‘Hanuman.’ Both movies proved disappointing box office performers.
Story of “Hanuman: Mythological Marvelalitat Directed by Prashant Varma, the film follows Teja Sajja as she gains access to Lord Hanuman and begins fighting for Anjanadri’s wellbeing with this power in hand.
This mythological action-drama follows the tale of an unknown superhero during Kalyug era. Starring Teja Sajja as well as Amrita Ayyar, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar Vinay Rai and Raj Deepak Shetty this epic film showcases their abilities together onscreen.
With success of Hanuman already behind them, filmmakers are already embarking on production of its sequel: Jai Hanuman (with an estimated budget of Rs1000 crores). According to director Prashant Varma however, budget will ultimately depend on requirements and progression of film itself.
Philanthropic Action by Filmmakers for Ram Mandir Construction
One key reason behind Hanuman’s success can be attributed to its timely release in Ayodhya around Ram Mandir construction. Recognizing patriotic and devotional sentiments expressed during its release, its producers pledged a donation of Rs5 from each ticket sale toward this cause – totalling an impressive donation of over 14 lakh towards construction of Ram Mandir Trust.
Mythological Films at the Box Office
Though ‘Hanuman’ may enjoy great success at the box office, not all mythological movies meet with equal success. Samantha Prabhu’s 2023 flick based on Abhijnana Sakuntalam proved unsuccessful despite its ambitious goals of success at its release date.
2022 marked an unexpected shift, when two mythological films, Kantara and Kartikeya 2, made headlines for their success at the box office and demonstrated how content-driven films could successfully connect with audiences while reaching commercial success at box offices worldwide.