Tollywood 2023 Roundup: A look back at what worked and what failed at BO

HYDERABAD: 2023 has ended, with a couple of films hitting the screens today. So far, this year has been amazing for the producers and distributors. The movie buffs also had fun watching multiple blockbusters this year. Let us look at all the films released this year, along with what worked and what did not.

The year began with an interesting box office clash between Chiranjeevi and Balakrishna, presenting "Waltair Veerayya" and "Veera Simha Reddy" in the Pongal race. Both films emerged as blockbusters. After that, Dhanush's "Sir," released in February, performed well at the box office. The film marked Dhanush's debut in Telugu.

The sleeper hit of the year is Venu Yeldandi's "Balagam." The film created waves and received numerous awards for its portrayal of Telangana nativity and culture. Following this success, Nani's "Dasara" became a blockbuster.

Samantha's "Shaakunthalam," Akhil's "Agent," and Ravi Teja's "Ravanasura" hit the screens in April. All these films had huge expectations, but unfortunately, they failed at the box office. But Sai Tej's "Virupaksha" hit the bull's eye.

Small films like "Mem Famous" and "Pareshan" made their mark, but it is Sree Vishnu's "Samajavaragamana" that emerged as a big hit again.

Prabhas's "Adipurush" and Nikhil's "Spy" were released amidst huge expectations, and both films tasted a dud at the box office. Even Pawan Kalyan's "BRO" also failed to meet the expectations. Anand Deverakonda and Vaishnavi Chaitanya's "Baby" emerged as the year's biggest blockbuster.

As expected, Chiranjeevi disappointed the audiences with "Bhola Shankar," even Mega hero Varun Tej failed with "Gandeevadhari Arjuna."

Vijay Deverakonda and Samantha's "Kushi" and Naveen Polishetty and Anushka's "Miss Shetty Mr. Polishetty" worked well at the box office in September, while Ram's "Skanda" and "Pedda Kapu-1" struggled to make an impact.

The small film "MAD" did well in October, along with Balayya's "Bhagavanth Kesari." Ravi Teja failed again with "Tiger Nageswara Rao." "Month of Madhu" received critical acclaim but fell short at the box office.

Tharun Bhascker's "Keeda Cola," "Maa Oori Polimera 2," Payal Rajput's "Mangalavaaram," and "Kotabommali PS." managed to make a mark, while Panja Vaishnav Tej's "Aadikeshava" failed to meet expectations.

Finally, in December, "Hi Nanna," starring Nani, tasted success along with the action-packed "Salaar" featuring Prabhas and directed by Prashanth Neel.

There are multiple hits this year, with most star heroes missing in the action.

On the other hand, some of the dubbing films performed well at the box office. In 2018, Leo and Jailer scored well, but films like Ponniyin Selvan 2, Kabja, and others failed.