Southern films' pan-India dreams come to naught

Is the notion of a southern India film that can draw moviegoers across the country now losing its sheen? Yes, if one goes by the growing frequency of failures of such productions aimed at pan-India audiences.

According to a study by media and entertainment research firm Ormax Media, the share of box office collections of southern films dubbed in Hindi—as a percentage of total box office collections of Hindi films—plummeted close to 7.1% in 2025 from 31.2% in 2024.

“There is a glaring lack of universal ideas in stories of southern films aimed at pan-India audiences,” said Hindi scriptwriter Jaidev Hemmady. “These films follow a formulaic approach. It is only when a film is rooted in its culture, there emerges universal elements which cut across geographies. Recent southern films such as The Raja Saab, Coolie, and Thug Life among others reflect these concerns.” He said “recent pan-India southern films lacked conviction and honesty in their storytelling.”

In 2025, films such as Game Changer, Coolie, Thug Life, Vrusshabha, Vidaamuyarchi, Retro, L2: Empuraan, and HIT: The Third Case, which targeted theatregoers across India, performed poorly at the box office. Even the recent pan-India offering, The Raja Saab, failed at the box office. This follows films such as Pushpa 2: The Rule, Hanu-Man, and Kalki 2898 AD boosting the share of dubbed southern films in 2024.

A key element which has made attempts of southern films to go pan-India a formulaic exercise is pan-India casting.

“In recent years, the idea of a pan-India southern film has been reduced to mere pan-India casting,” explained producer Ameya Naik. “By merely casting leading artists across geographies does not make a film pan-India. Such films may get funding. But focusing more on casting artists across regions than on rooted stories is a recipe for failure.”

Film trade analysts believe that audiences have been prompt in investing their time and money in well-crafted movies thanks to their reliance more on word-of-mouth recommendations of close friends and family.

“Today, audiences plan the number of visits to theatres given the high cost,” said Girish Johar, film producer and industry expert. “In 2025, a good number of Hindi and Hollywood films attracted high audience interest thanks to superior storytelling in these films. One must note that southern films which did not work beyond their home states also underperformed in their home states, indicating that they failed because of bad scripts.”

Johar cited the pan-India success of Malayalam film, Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra, which collected more than Rs184 crore in India on a budget of close to Rs30 crore.

According to film distributors, the fallout of chasing high returns pan-India is leading southern film stars to lose their crowd pull both within and outside their home states.

“Today, most pan-India southern films are failing in their home states also,” said Shaaminder Malik, film distributor and trade analyst. “A fallout of this is that southern stars are losing their star power both outside and within their home states. So, makers must focus on the soul of a film, which is a good story to succeed commercially on pan-India level.”