Are Tamil cinema’s big stars failing the industry?

BOLLYWOOD’S recent string of big box of fice disasters has been well-documented, but Tamil cinema is also experiencing a tough period.

The industry, known as Kollywood, had one of its worst years in 2024, with a jaw dropping amount of money being lost on big-budget blockbusters that were rejected by audiences. Although there were a few successes, like Amaran and Maharaja, 2024, just like previous years, was dominated by expensive flops headlined by big-name stars that didn’t live up to expectations.

According to some estimates, it lost nearly £100 million on dud projects. One report suggested that there was less than a 10 per cent success rate, with most of the “success es” being low-budget films with tiny profits.

Some of last year’s most spectacular failures included Kanguva, Vettaiyan, and the deeply disappointing sequel Indian 2. One thing that big-budget Tamil movies head lined by big stars had in common was a strong opening weekend, followed by a dramatic collapse in collections once audiences realised they were anything but good. A simi lar story played out with last year’s highest grossing Kollywood release, The Greatest of All Time (GOAT), which opened strongly thanks to the star power of Vijay, before the mixed reviews came in and the film gradually fizzled out. The difference with GOAT is that it took longer for interest to die down, unlike other high-profile Tamil films that seemed to be hits, but weren’t, because of their extremely high budgets.

Kanguva

While these films may look flashy on the surface, much like Hindi cinema, the big gest stumbling block has been the terrible writing. Kollywood audiences, once star struck, now, like Bollywood fans, want much better storylines. Another major rea son for the failures is the soaring production costs, largely driven by the ridiculous fees demanded by major stars, making it far more difficult to recover the investment. Many of these films were built up with huge marketing pushes and big-name stars, but couldn’t meet the sky-high expectations that came with it.

Like Hindi cinema, Kollywood is relying on ageing actors because there’s very little fresh talent coming through. Versions dubbed in other languages like Hindi haven’t really impressed non-Tamil audiences either.

The year 2025 has gotten off to a mixed start, with low-budget films like Madha Gaja Raja and Kudumbasthan surviving mixed re views to generate decent box office returns. All eyes were on the Ajith Kumar-headlined action entertainer Vidaamuyarchi, which was expected to generate huge numbers, but like other recent mega-budget disasters, it col lapsed after a solid opening weekend.

Vidaamuyarchi

The sky-high budget means it’s go ing to lose a lot of money, wiping out the success of the smaller-budget films Madha Gaja Raja and Kudumbasthan. There are high-pro file films lined up, in cluding Rajinikanth’s Coolie, the Ajith Kumar led Good Bad Ugly, and Thug Life, which re unites Kamal Haasan with ace filmmaker Mani Ratnam. There’s also Thalapathy Vijay’s as-yet-untitled final film before his retirement. But as recent releases have shown, Kolly wood can no longer take Tamil audiences for granted.

Meanwhile, the Telugu, Punjabi, Malayalam, and Kannada industries have been having far more suc cess, with dubbed ver sions becoming hits. Even the fledgling Gujara ti market is making impres sive strides. Bollywood and Kollywood have a lot to do to get back on track.