Telugu Cinema, aka Tollywood, is a film industry based in Hyderabad, that produces films in Telugu language. In terms of regional market, it is the second biggest in the country, only next to Bollywood. Having said that, this is how Telugu films are distributed across the country.

There are two states in India where Telugu is spoken: Telangana & Andhra Pradesh. Needless to say, these regions are the major source of revenue for Telugu films.

As per the trade, the entire state of Telangana comes under the territory called Nizam (titled after the rulers of Hyderabad state during the pre-independence era, Nizams).

It should be noted that 70–75% of Nizam’s revenue comes from Hyderabad alone, implying that viewership in rural Telangana is quite small. Unlike Telangana, where most market is concentrated in a city, in Andhra Pradesh, the viewership is way higher and the market is spread across seven territories which are

1. 1. Vishakapatnam

1. 1. East Godavari

1. 1. West Godavari

1. 1. Krishna

1. 1. Guntur

1. 1. Nellore

1. 1. Ceded

While the first six territories fall under the coastal Andhra region, the seventh one, Ceded, refers to the Rayalaseema region, which consists of Kadapa, Kurnool, Chittoor, and Ananthapur districts. Traditionally, these were the only eight regions where Telugu films were consumed. As years passed, people started migrating to foreign lands both within and outside the country, thus giving birth to new markets such as Overseas & Karnataka.

The overseas market for Telugu films is spread across nations, but 70–80% of the revenue comes from the USA alone (thanks to the huge Telugu community there). Other minor markets include the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

The Telugu-speaking population in Karnataka, particularly in Bengaluru, where the IT hub is located, is quite significant, thus creating a market there.

Note: This is a highly simplified explanation and varies from reality. For instance, Nizam territory also includes two districts of Karnataka: Raichur and Koppal, which were deliberately ignored for simplification.

Now that you understand how Telugu films are distributed across the world, here are some trade terms you need to understand.

Break-even: The point at which a film’s Nett collected equals the distribution rights of a region.

Lemme explain. For instance, say Dil Raju had bought the Nizam rights to a film for 20 crore INR. For the film to break even in that region, it has to collect a Nett of 20 crore INR.

In simple terms, within a territory, if everyone involved in the economics recovers their investments, the film is labelled ‘break-even’ in that region.

Similarly, every territory has a break-even target. If a film achieves this feat across all the distributed territories, it gains a ‘Hit’ status. As you can see, a film is a ‘Hit’ if everyone involved in economics reaches a point of no-losses. Every territory holds a record for the highest Share/Nett collected. When a new release surpasses this, it’s called ‘All Time Record’ of the region. A film achieving this feat across all the territories is labelled as ‘Industry Hit’.

The numbers you see on newspapers, billboards, and social media are not entirely accurate since it’s a common practice for producers to exaggerate figures for publicity. Having said that, while being a cinephile and following the trade can make up a good hobby, debating about films’ box-office figures is plain foolishness. Cuz after all, unlike developed nations, India doesn’t have a structured tracking system, thus creating a freedom to float numbers as much as they want.