Bollywood is booming! 2022 saw a 33 percent rise in entertainment and media consumption in Southern India. The increase generated an eye-popping $3.57 billion in revenue, mainly due to the success of the blockbuster RRR.
According to Variety, the findings were published in a report called South India: Setting Benchmarks for the Nation in Media & Entertainment, commissioned by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). It studied consumer behavior in print, streaming/digital, film, television, and radio in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana in 2022.
India has a population of 1.4 billion, and 20 percent reside in the southern region. Though it may seem comparatively small, it’s a region that spends big. The inhabitants of Southern India generate percent of the national gross domestic product and more than half of its film earnings.
The key to the unprecedented expansion of the South Indian entertainment industry is the production of content in its four main languages: Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu. Films in Tamil saw the most box office success. Ponniyin Selvan I and Vikram earned a combined $359 million.
Telugu movies came in second with $305 million, with the international triumph RRR. The latter won the Oscar for Best Original Song at the 2022 Academy Awards. Meanwhile, the Kannada film sector raked in $191 million with the films Kantara and K.G.F: Chapter 2, while Bheeshma Parvam earned a respectable $99.4 million in the Malayalam language sector.
South India moviegoers spent $346 million at cinemas and $224 million on streaming services, showing a clear preference for theatrical releases. Financial projections for 2023 expect continue to increase among Tamil, Telugu and Malayam audiences but predict a 47 percent drop in Kannada speaking film fans as studios have yet to order sequels to its most popular releases. Therfore, revenues for the current fiscal year will likely contract by a single percentile.