The Shocking Truth About Overseas Film Business!!

With film line becoming more like a corporate industry, it is all about figures and returns for any film. And with globalization happening, the demand for films overseas has become a key aspect of business.

However, as much as it may look rosy, here is a bitter truth about the harsh realities the overseas buyers are experiencing.

While some enter out of pure passion for cinema, others make some wrong calculations. Anyways, here is a look at few inside facts on the actual collections of our films which we received from our sources.

The overseas price for ‘Puli’ was Rs 1.75 cr and even the loss was Rs 1.75 cr. This became the biggest loser overseas and just the print costs were recovered.  Similar was the fate of ‘Orange’ which was bought at Rs 2.1 cr and the loss incurred was Rs 1.1 cr.

‘Anaganaga Oka Dheerudu’s hype fetched a price of Rs 1 cr and the buyers could manage only the print costs incurring a massive loss of Rs 1 cr. ‘Varudu’ was bought at Rs 1.3 cr and this gave a loss of Rs 1.2 cr, this recovered little print costs and expenses cost. Same was the case with ‘Kedi’ which was bought for Rs 1 cr and gave a loss of Rs 1 cr.

The maximum number of buyers suffered in the losses of Rs 50 Lakhs- Rs 1 cr category and here are few details. ‘KSD Appalaraju’ was bought for Rs 60 lakhs and incurred a loss of Rs 70 lakhs, they could not recover even the print costs. ‘Ragada’ was taken for Rs 1 cr and this gave Rs 65 lakhs loss. Siddarth’s ‘Bava’ was bought for Rs 72 lakhs and the loss due to that was Rs 85 lakhs. ‘Rama Rama Krishna Krishna’ also was taken for Rs 75 lakhs and it gave a loss of Rs 85 lakhsleaving the buyers speechless. ‘Maro Charitra’ was another debacle which was bought for Rs 50 lakhs and led to a loss of Rs 65 lakhs, even the shipping costs were not recovered. Same with ‘Sambho Siva Sambho’ bought for Rs 60 lakhs and incurred a loss of Rs 70 lakhs. ‘Namo Venkatesa’ was bought for Rs 1.75 cr but it gave only a loss of Rs 50 lakhs. 

The remaining buyers who suffered less injuries fall under the Rs 10 L- Rs 50 L bracket. Already, ‘Dongala Mutha’ bought for Rs 20 lakhs is expected to give a loss of Rs 30 lakhs. ‘Prema Kavali’ gave a loss of Rs 10 lakhs and even the print and shipping costs were not recovered. ‘Wanted’ was bought for Rs 20 lakhs and the loss was Rs 25 lakhs, even print costs were not recovered. ‘Parama Veera Chakra’ gave Rs 10 lakhs loss and print costs were also not recovered. ‘Nagavalli’ was bought for a hefty Rs 85 lakhs and it gave a loss of Rs 35 lakhs. ‘Rakta Charitra 2’ gave a loss of Rs 40 lakhs and it was borne by the producer. ‘Kathi’ was bought for Rs 10 lakhs and the loss was Rs 18 lakhs. NTR Jr’s ‘Brindaavanam’ was taken for Rs 1.5 cr and the result was a loss of Rs 10 lakhs. Same with ‘Don Seenu’ taken for Rs 80 lakhs and giving a loss of Rs 15 lakhs. ‘Subhapradam’ was taken for Rs 6 lakhs and the result was a loss of Rs 12 lakhs. Surprising to note that ‘Darling’ bought for Rs 90 lakhs gave a loss of Rs 25 lakhs which is a shame for a class hit movie in India. ‘Adhurs’ was taken for Rs 1.3 cr and it only gave a loss of Rs 10 lakhs.

The other set of buyers were lucky enough to get away with smaller wounds. ‘Gaganam’ gave a loss of Rs 5 lakhs after spending Rs 40 lakhs on it. ‘Jummandhi Naadham’ gave a loss of Rs 3 lakhs and it was released by the producer who could not recover even the print costs. ‘Om Shanti’ gave the producer Rs 6 lakhs loss.

On the brighter side, ‘Aha Naa Pellanta’ gave collection of Rs 2 lakhs to the producer which was a little above the print costs. ‘Mirapakaya’ which scored a hit in India was bought for Rs 75 lakhsand it resulted in a collection of Rs 75 lakhs leading to cost-to-cost situation. ‘Vasthadu Naa Raju’ gave no profit no loss to the producer who recovered the print costs. Same with ‘Rakta Charitra -1’. Surprisingly, Mahesh Babu’s ‘Khaleja’ which was bought at Rs 1.95 cr gave a profit of Rs 5 lakhs. ‘Robo’ was the best with Rs 1.5 cr buying price and a profit of Rs 50 lakhs. The price was calculated by 1/4th of Rs 6 crores due to the Telugu and Tamil rights. ‘Maryada Ramanna’ gave profit of Rs 25 lakhs with Rs 1 cr investment. ‘Vedam’ gave Rs 15 lakhs profit with Rs 95 lakhsbuying price. ‘Simha’ was bought for Rs 25 lakhs and gave profit of Rs 15 lakhs, this was considered a good deal given that Balayya has a weak territory overseas. ‘Prasthanam’ got its producer Rs 10 lakhs. ‘Ye Maya Chesave’ was bought for Rs 80 lakhs and gave profit of Rs 5 lakhs. ‘Leader’ was taken for Rs 95 lakhs and gave profit of Rs 25 lakhs. ‘Bindaas’ got its producerRs 2 lakhs.

Going by the above figures, this is the situation of the overseas buyers folks.