Even as the Hindi-speaking belt grows into a crucial market for southern language spectacle films, the core revenue for these high-budget titles still comes from their home markets in south India. Despite capped ticket rates in regional markets, period drama Kalki 2898 AD starring Prabhas and Deepika Padukone earned ₹ 126 crore from the Telugu-speaking market, compared to ₹ 107 crore from its dubbed Hindi version on its opening weekend. Additionally, Rs.
14.86 crores from another southern state like Tamil Nadu. In December, Prabhas’ other Telugu film Salaar had clocked ₹ 145 crore from the Telugu market over the first weekend, while the Hindi circuits threw up Rs.
91 crore. Trade experts say the business in the northern market is growing, which explains the investment southern filmmakers make in getting popular Bollywood faces on board or promoting the film in Hindi states, but the core brand of the studio and lead actor cannot be dislodged from the south. The latter manages better business despite the relatively larger size of the Hindi belt, thanks to the stronger movie-going culture of the South, reasonably priced tickets, and better access to theatres.
“Hindi may be growing to bring a proportionately larger ratio of overall business over time but it’s not as big as the southern market (for these films),” Rahul Puri, managing director, Mukta Arts and Mukta A2 Cinemas said. “What helps is the presence of a star cast that resonates with a Hindi audience. Howe.