The start of 2024 brought high hopes for the theaters in Telangana with the release of many big-budget and long-awaited films. Sadly, many single-screen theaters failed to profit from these films, with the exception of HanuMan and Tillu Square. Adding to this, the past couple of months have been hard for the Tollywood trade industry due to the lack of big-budget films with top stars. Moreover, the ongoing IPL and general election fever in the country have taken a toll on small and medium budget movies that were released in the last two months.

The seriousness of the situation has led some single-screen exhibitors in Telangana to shut down their theaters temporarily to minimize their losses. From May 17th, a majority of theaters across Telangana will be closed for ten days. They are expected to reopen once the situation improves, which may take till June.

Despite the re-release of a few yesteryear movies featuring top-notch Tollywood stars and performing decently for a weekend, the collections were not enough to cover the expenses. The conditions are to improve soon with the release of high-budget entertainers like Prabhas and Deepika Padukone’s Kalki, Allu Arjun’s Pushpa The Rule, and several other pan-India biggies.

It is unfortunate that the box office is so dull, and the situation is highly alarming. Single-screen theaters are struggling to recoup their daily operational expenses and thus struggling to ensure their survival. The Telangana State Single Theater Association hasn't officially announced the closure of theaters yet. On May 25th, movies such as Love Me, Gangs of Godavari, Harom Hara, and Satyabhama will be released in theaters during the last few weeks of May. Typically, the summer season is quite profitable for theaters; however, there were no significant movie releases during the 2024 holiday season, and those that opened were unable to generate a considerable profit.