South cinema shift: Content-driven films outperform big stars

Mumbai: Mid-budget southern films lacking any established stars have not only been increasingly successful over the past two years but also generated superior return on investment (RoI) than high-budget superstar-led projects, marking a sharp shift toward content-driven productions.

This segment is emerging as a reliable business model, especially at a time when big-budget star-studded films are frequently delivering thin margins, said producers, film trade analysts and content deal syndicators.

Many films made within an estimated budget of Rs 10 crore – such as Little Hearts and Anaganaga Oka Raju (Telugu), Tourist Family and Youth (Tamil), Su From So and Love Mocktail 3 (Kannada) and Premalu, Kishkindha Kaandam and Vaazha - Biopic of a Billion Boys (Malayalam) – generated box office collection of Rs 40-140 crore, said trade analysts.


For instance, the latest Malayalam sequel Vaazha 2: Biopic of a Billion Bros, has grossed Rs 100 crore on a budget of Rs 10 crore, indicating a staggering RoI of 900%.

Return on Investment of 5-10x

“The biggest disruption in the southern cinema today is not scale but efficiency of returns. Mid-budget films made for less than Rs 10 crore are generating five to ten times returns,” said Suniel Wadhwa, co-founder and director, Karmic Films. “This makes mid-budget films one of the most efficient and scalable opportunities for producers and distributors.”

Stars no longer guarantee business in southern films, with the result that the role of the script has become paramount for makers, according to analysts.

“Today, script is king. A bad film of a southern star loses the audience’s interest right after the morning or noon show through strong word-of-mouth communication on social media,” said Sreedhar Pillai, a veteran trade analyst. “Historically, Malayalam cinema has always been known for non-star content-oriented films. But, today, we are seeing similar trends in other languages in the south too.”

The youth and family audiences have a large role to play in the success of the non-star films.

“Unlike star-studded films, these mid-budget films open slowly. But their collections grow so well organically that in the long run they beat even big-budget films in returns. Today’s youth—late teens to 34 years—is not awed by stars. Content—its novelty and freshness—drives the youth to theatres,” said Chennai-based entertainment sector analyst Ramesh Bala.

“Family audiences are drawn to these mid-budget films largely because they deal with highly relatable universal themes and values. Also, since the stakes are low, makers experiment a lot in these films by blending and innovating with genres through conviction-based storytelling," he added.

Bala cited the Tamil film Youth, for instance, which appealed both to the youth and family audiences. The film focuses on a school student’s journey to becoming a mature and responsible person.

Significantly, the rise of well-scripted mid-budget southern films can partly be attributed to streamers and broadcasters.

“Streamers and broadcasters have become selective in buying films. So, makers are focusing on good scripts which perform well in theatres and fetch them high valuations from streamers and broadcasters after their successful theatrical innings,” said Arun Kumar, a Chennai-based content deal syndicator.

Producers said they welcomed the success of mid-budget non-star films because it allowed them to invest effectively in stories and other cinematic elements, unlike in big-budget star-studded films, where much of the budget goes to actor fees.