KGF, RRR fuel South Indian film industry's growth; revenue up by 96% in 2022

A still from the film RRR.

The big screen blockbusters such as RRR, KGF Chapter 2, and Kantara fuelled the growth of the South Indian film industry which recorded 96 percent growth in 2022.

The industry reported Rs 7,836 crore in revenue last year, up from R 3,988 crore in 2021 due to growth in more south language film industries including Kannada and Malayalam apart from Tamil and Telugu, said CII's report titled South India: Setting Benchmarks for the Nation in Media & Entertainment.

Kannada films KGF: Chapter 2 and Kantara redefined the market scope of Kannada cinema by registering strong box office collection numbers, the report said. "Malayalam cinema on the other hand grew well in both domestic and overseas theatrical markets, which helped it achieve an overall 71 percent growth in 2022. If Telugu cinema had a blockbuster like RRR which earned over Rs 1,200 crore at the box office, Tamil cinema had two back-to-back industry hits with Vikram and Ponniyin Selvan 1. These dramatic growth rates by all four regional industries helped the South Indian film industry to achieve record growth," it added.

In 2022, Tamil cinema contributed 38 percent of the revenues to the Southern region, followed by Telugu cinema at 32 percent, Kannada cinema at 20 percent, and Malayalam cinema at 10 percent. Kannada cinema made a strong gain during the year due to the success of two of their films, KGF-2 and Kantara, at the pan-India level.

Out of the total estimated revenue of Rs 15,000 crore at the all-India level by the film industry, the Southern region with four language industries contributed 52 percent.

In terms of movie releases, of the 1,691 films released last year, 916 films were released in South India, accounting for 54 percent of the total releases in the country. While India is making films in 14 major languages, South Indian languages dominate when it comes to the number of films produced every year, the report said.

While the South Indian film industry saw significant growth in revenues last year, the sector is estimated to have marginal growth in 2023.

If the industry gets one or two big pan-India hits like in 2022, the Rs 7,800 crore number may increase, the report said. "But for now, it is safe to assume that the industry size will remain the same in 2023," it added.

The Tamil film industry is expected to continue the momentum at 15 percent growth. On the other hand, with no sight of a pan-India film like RRR in 2023, the Telugu film industry looks at a marginal growth of 5 percent.

The Malayalam film industry is expected to maintain its growth rate while the Kannada film industry will reflect a decline as they do not have another film like KGF 2 or Kantara expected to be released this year to sustain its growth phase, the report noted.

"The market correction will happen in 2023 and then it is expected to grow well in 2024 on that corrected base. Overall, despite no biggies like RRR, KGF 2 or Kantara expected in 2023, the south region is still expected to maintain its revenues of 2022 in 2023," the report added.