For the Telugu film industry, 2010 was not a great year at the overseas market. Just a handful of Telugu films recovered their investment in the overseas market and many distributors lost heavily on big ticket productions.
According to estimates, big films like Simha, Ye Maaye Chesave and Raktha Charitra made some profits. Other star-centric movies such as BrindavanamM and Mahesh Khaleja broke even.
But the takings for the rest of the 50-odd films released this year fell well short of the exorbitant rates at which each film was sold. "The overseas market is not a viable business proposition any more due to these exorbitant rates. Actually, distributors are suffering all the losses, so producers who demand high prices should be prepared for a `profit and loss` sharing module with the distributor or should offer `minimum guarantee,` as a buffer against hefty prices," say the overseas distributors.
The overseas market had been a money-spinner for T-town till a few years ago, but now, the jacked up price tag of Rs 2 or 3 crore per superstar film has taken its toll on the market.
Although the market expanded from five centers to 30-odd areas in the United States, including New Jersey, Dallas and Atlanta, besides finding markets in Poland in Europe and Durban in South Africa, non-resident Indian viewer-ship has not increased proportionately.
"Overseas audiences have always been selective. They patronize good films and shun lackluster stuff. Though we explored relatively small centers in Texas and Florida with Raktha Charitra, the overseas market wasn`t happening this year. Instead of established distributors, the rights are bought by a group of friends or students and we found 50 to 60 new entrants in the arena. However, the inflated rates will inevitably come down once fly-by-night operators vanish," says Rajkumar, who distributed more than 100-odd films abroad.
Other distributors also blame the lackluster sales on prohibitive ticket prices and piracy, besides high admission rates of 15 to 20 dollars per ticket, internet piracy and adverse reviews on websites are causing damage. Audiences that have to travel 100 km up and down want to be doubly sure before digging into their pockets.
The going was good for superstar films, and overseas audiences patronized thematic films as well. But this year, except for Leader and Prasthanam, they gave the thumbs down to many niche films.
There were no takers for 40-odd small films, while producers of stars films are tying up with Adlabs in the United States on a sharing basis. Now overseas distribution is just a gamble since the stakes are very high.
