The year that passed for the Kannada film industry in 2025 was not filled with very good memories. It was a nightmare for more than 250 producers, with a budget of nearly ₹500 crores involved.
Instead of going through the proceedings of the last year, we have tried to focus on the wrong steps made by the Kannada film industry.
The lack of proper scripts and terrific screenplays bothered the industry, as in previous years. Only a dozen films went right in this direction. Many failed to generate audiences in theatres because of a lack of proper marketing strategy.
The days of banking on newspaper advertisements are quite okay, but banking on social media to get audiences really did not work out. Nearly 25 percent of the film budgets spent on YouTube, reels, Instagram, and Face book media crashed. Lakhs of views and hits did not even bring 10 percent of the audience to the theatres.
The method of banking heavily on social media spending has proved to be a big bane, looking at the results of the year 2025. Look at what Su from So did. They did not depend on much of publicity but formed groups to fetch audiences to the theatres, and that really worked out.
The 250-plus producers simply dropped money on publicity, and finally they also got dropped when it came to bringing audiences into theatres. Even the initial attendance promised by new marketing agents did not happen. For morning show there was lack of audiences on the first day of release.
In this direction, there is an urgent need for a “Think Tank” committee to bail out both new and old producers. What is required is an initial attendance guarantee from social media marketing agents.
Big names also crashed because of outdated content theories. They spent heavily on publicity despite their goodwill, and even that investment did not recover. The best example is Marutha, a Kannada film.
Coming to the release of films in theatres, it was the multiplexes that both suffered and gained from some films, but the situation of single screens in Karnataka is pitiable.
Public awareness about upcoming films did not happen. Like how Beedhi Nataka was popular once, the same pattern is best for people’s interaction with films before release. Once curiosity and the urge to see a film increase, some method to sell tickets also becomes possible.
The issue of the mountain coming to the man did not happen. The social media platforms that boasted of getting audiences miserably failed to bring people to theatres even for a few days. Then why should producers spend on such platforms? After all, it is a give-and-take system prevailing today.
The distributor pattern has become outdated, and their involvement in pushing films did not happen last year either.
Wrong planning and the continued delay of superstar films is another debacle for the exhibitor sector. With 550 single screens and 500 screens across 75-plus multiplexes in Karnataka for a population of seven crores, the number is meager. Nearly 100 screens are closing because of no feedback or support from the industry.
Major superstars’ films did not release during the year. At least two superstars, cash-register-ringing Kannada films per month are mandatory. There has been absolutely no support in this direction, which is obviously resulting in the closure of cinema halls.
The year 2026 should be a good crop-selling year for the cinema industry. There are various methods available for producers.
One among them is precise discussion of scripts by involving people from a few walks of society, including the media. The media watches most films and is in the right position to churn out relevant topics.
A new director should not feel ashamed to discuss his subject, screenplay, and dialogues with some luminaries of the industry. In fact, discussion with senior actors and technicians will be a good concept to make films more easily and neatly.
Jai ho Producers for the year 2026. In fact, it is from the producer that all tightening should begin. A right angle for filmmaking is also possible when marketing strategy is planned from the script stage itself.
Marketing team involvement can also bring brands into films, which obviously bails out producers to some extent. According to sources, there are nearly 100-plus ways to market a film that would boost producers.
It is not an uphill task today to reach break-even if correct calculations are adopted in the right way from day one.