Fading stardom and empty halls: inside the steep box office slump upending South Indian cinema

“A star opens a film, and after that, every film, whatever its size, earns its run on merit. Some of the most rewarding outcomes have come from films that were not the biggest on paper,” said Devang Sampat, managing director, Cinepolis India. “When a big film underperforms, the answer is almost always in the writing, not in the market. Audiences today are watching more content across languages than ever before, so familiarity is the real risk. Hindi cinema went through this same phase and came out of it with a braver slate. The South is moving through the same cycle, and given the depth of talent across these industries, I would expect the same outcome,” Sampat added.