It’s the end of first half of 2016. Sandalwood has had a good first half compared to other film industries. A total of 101 films released from January 1,2016 to June 30,2016. This includes 3 old films, which were re-released. Out of these, 21 films have managed to get profits for producers, which makes the success rate of Kannada films at 21%. This is a very good success rate for any film industry. Normally only 10 percent of films recover money for the producers.
The year started with a bang. ‘Killing Veerappan’ and ‘Kathe Chitrakathe Nirdeshana Puttanna’ released on January 1. Both the films were success at box office. January was followed with more success in form of ‘Maduveya Mamatheya Kareyole’, ‘Last Bus’ and ‘Ricky’. However the biggest disappointment was ‘Viraat’. The much delayed film of Darshan was a critical as well as commercial failure.

February was not a good month for Sandalwood compared to the first month. Except ‘Shivalinga’, which was a big hit, none of the films managed to do well commercially. However many films like ‘Game’, ‘Actor’, ‘Shivayogi Sri Puttayyajja’ and ‘Devara Naadalli’ received critical acclaim. Ajai Rao’s ‘Krishna Rukku’ released with great expectations. However it could not do as expected. However due to low budget and good marketing, the film is said to have recovered money.

In March, ‘Sumana Kittur’s ‘Kiragoorina Gayyaligalu’ was the surprise hit. The rural drama did well in box office. ‘Simple Agi Innond Love Story’ and ‘Jessie’ also managed to do above average collections getting profits for producers.

April was the biggest month with PuneethRajkumar’s ‘Chakravyuha’ releasing. The film released with huge expectations. However it could not do as well as expected. After a great start the film faltered. However the film did manage to bring good amount of profits. Other big release of the month was Sharan’s high budgeted comedy film ‘Jai Maruthi 800’. The film did well initially and faltered later similar to ‘Chakravyuha’. Remaining films of the film released in April were wash outs.

May started on a good note with Anish Tejeshwar’s ‘Akira’ doing well. The month can be called the best month of 2016. Films like ‘Thithi’, ‘Ishtakamaya’, ‘U Turn’ and ‘Karava’ did great business proving that good content films will always win in box office. The biggest disappointment was Ganesh’s ‘Style King’. The film which was in the news since two years did not manage to open well also, questioning Ganesh’s star status. Even though the film received good word of mouth, it was out of theatres in few days. Poor distribution can be blamed for the poor performance of the film. Another biggest disappointment of May was Ravichandran’s dream project ‘Apoorva’. The film which has been in making since three years was rejected by audience due to it’s philosophical content.

‘Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu’ was the first release in June. The film was a runaway hit. Ananth Nag’s performance was hailed by one and all. Critics and audience also opined that Ananth Nag deserved National Award for his performance as Venkob Rao. Darshan came back with a bang with ‘Jaggu Dada’. The film did excellent business in it’s first two weeks getting in good amount of profit for the producers. The film also showed the star power of Darshan in box office. June ended with ‘Jigarthanda’ and Lakshamana’. Both the movies had new stars. However they were backed by KicchaSudeep and R Chandru respectively. ‘Jigarthanda’ managed to do well due to Ravishankar and is said to be a hit. However ‘Lakshama’ is said to have bitten the dust. However the makers claim it is still running well.

The first half of Sandalwood can be described as good. Even though nearly 80 films failed to get back the investments, remaining managed to do well. Raj, a manager of popular multiplex said, “It’s been a good year. Many Kannada films have done well. And the best part is, it is the non stars films which have done well. The biggest surprise hit for me is ‘Thithi’. The film has surprised everyone. Multiplexes have had a great 2016 due to Kannada films. Even last year’s last release ‘Masterpiece’ did record breaking business in multiplexes in January.”

Hailing good content as the reason for this, Vinay, a film critic opines that people of Karnataka always support good content based films. ” The best part of this first half is increase in business in rest of India and overseas. Many Kannada films have done excellent business in neighbouring states. In overseas also some films have done good business. The industry is in the best phase at present,” he adds.

The second half of the year looks promising. Big stars Yash, Upendra and Sudeep’s  film are set to release. The most expected films of second half of 2016 are ‘Santhu Straight Forward’, ‘Kotigobba 2’, ‘Chakravarthy’, ‘Kalpana 2’, ‘Kabira’ and ‘DodmaneHuduga’. There are many small budget films also up for release which looks good. Let’s see which film will be able to make a mark in second half of the year.