Big budget Telugu films heading to release in the coming years may not find traditional distributors in North America.
Producers are increasingly planning to release their films on their own because the prices being quoted are far beyond what distributors are willing to risk.
For distributors in the United States, any deal above Rs 50 crore is considered a warning sign. It becomes extremely risky to recover such large investments from theatrical revenues.
However, several upcoming films are quoting prices close to Rs 100 crore or even higher for the Overseas market.
Films such as Allu Arjun and Atlee’s upcoming project, Kalki 2, Varanasi, NTR and Prashanth Neel’s Dragon, and Spirit fall into this category. As a result, there are hardly any buyers willing to acquire these rights.
Because of this situation, producers are preparing to release the films themselves by using existing distribution channels in the United States and paying them a commission.
For example, the Allu Arjun and Atlee film will likely be released directly by Sun Pictures, while Spirit is expected to be handled by Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s family banner.
In recent times, the only major Telugu film that managed to secure a North American distribution deal was Peddi, mainly because its price was below the Rs 40 crore mark.
For producers, this means taking on greater financial risk. For distribution channels in the US, however, it becomes a safe business since they earn commissions regardless of the film’s box office performance.
