Despite failures, Telugu film industry's budgets keep rising

The Telugu film industry has been a major contributor to the pan-India film market, with many notable projects in recent years and many more in the pipeline. The Baahubali franchise set a benchmark in terms of grandeur and big releases, requiring massive budgets that paid off with massive collections worldwide. Other big-budget films like RRR, Radhe Shyam, Saaho, Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, and Pushpa have also been produced, with varying levels of success.

Despite the high failure rate in the industry, producers continue to invest large budgets, even for films with tier 2 heroes who have recently struggled at the box office. The main reason for this trend is the revenue generated from non-theatrical rights, which can exceed 40 crore for medium-budget films. As a result, a medium-budget film in the Telugu industry now ranges between 60-70 crore, while big star films require a minimum budget of 200 crore, with heroes demanding close to 100 crore in remuneration. However, this puts producers in a difficult position, as the success rate remains low while budgets continue to increase.