These 5 highly-anticipated films in 2018 fell flat at the box-office

Post the phenomenal success of Baahubali franchise, the global market for Telugu cinema has gradually uplifted and made its way into new territories. Along with box-office numbers, the budgets have also creeped up with the major part going to actors’ remuneration. Known to churn out the maximum number of films each year after Bollywood, the Telugu film industry is having a decent run in 2018 with several A-list stars delivering blockbusters at the ticket counters.

However, some of the big-ticket films which were expected to create wonders and strike a right chord with the viewers, failed miserably during their theatrical run. Despite helmed by talented filmmakers, these movies lacked a proper script, gripping screenplay, and a convincing logic. While actors like Ram Charan, Junior NTR and Mahesh Babu managed to score a big success, Pawan Kalyan, Nani and Allu Arjun had a forgettable outing. Here are 5 highly-anticipated films which fell flat at the box-office.

Marking the reunion of Pawan Kalyan and Trivikram Srinivas after the highly-successful ‘Jalsa’ and ‘Attarintiki Daredi’, ‘Agnyaathavaasi’ depicted the story of a son who comes out of exile to investigate the murder of his billionaire father. Helmed and sold on a massive budget of over Rs 100 crore, the action-comedy got off to a disastrous start and sank without a trace at the domestic box-office. Featuring an ensemble star cast with actors like Keerthy Suresh, Anu Emmanuel, Aadhi Pinisetty and Boman Irani on board, the film was rumoured to be a freemake of French thriller ‘Largo Winch’. After its worldwide release, ‘Agnyaathavaasi’ was threatened to be sued by the director of the original.

The Allu Arjun starrer helmed by writer-turned-director Vakkantham Vamsi released to mixed reviews from both critics and viewers. Set against a military backdrop, the big-budget action thriller showcased the Stylish Star as a hot-headed army officer dealing with extreme anger issues. While the worldwide theatrical rights of ‘Naa Peru Surya, Naa Illu India’ are valued at Rs 80 crore, the Vishal & Shekhar musical could only collect around Rs 60 crore in its full run. Adding insult to injury, the overwhelming success of Keerthy Suresh’s ‘Mahanati’ pulled the attention of Telugu audience towards the biopic. So, it was a disaster for Allu Arjun & Co.

With a unique concept and an interesting trailer, ‘Saakshyam’ starring Bellamkonda Sreenivas and the sizzling diva Pooja Hegde was released amidst positive expectations. However, the age-old revenge drama served with revolting violence and dressed up with gaming technology, failed to satisfy the viewers. Director Sriwass has heavily relied on action stunts, grand visuals and spiritual theme rather than executing his story and scenes convincingly. Termed as a box-office dud, the fantasy-thriller amassed a total of Rs 12 crore for its distributors who shelled out Rs 25 crore on the theatrical rights.

‘Krishnarjuna Yudham’ ended the successful streak of Natural Star Nani at the global box-office. After scoring seven back-to-back superhits, the 34-year-old actor failed to meet the expectations of the audience with his action-comedy. Except for Hiphop Taamizha’s chartbuster song ‘Dhaari choodu’ and a few comedy scenes, the Merlapaka Gandhi directorial seemed like a routine commercial film with an age-old story and boring narration. While the worldwide theatrical rights of ‘Krishnarjuna Yudham’ were sold at Rs 30 crore, the movie failed to recover even half of its investment.

Riding high on the back-to-back blockbusters of ‘Arjun Reddy’ and ‘Geetha Govindam’, Vijay Deverakonda has pinned good hopes on his political-thriller ‘NOTA’ directed by Anand Shankar. But unfortunately, the Tamil-Telugu bilingual tanked at the box-office due to its routine script and overdose of Tamil politics. Though the 29-year-old actor impressed big-time with his convincing performance as a carefree guy-turned-Chief Minister, ‘NOTA’ failed to utilise him in crucial sequences. With the smashing arrival of Junior NTR’s ‘Aravindha Sametha’, ‘NOTA’ lost its few chances of becoming a break-even.