The digital players have changed paths and there are quite selective. They acquired the rights of several films for hefty prices and their budgets are now restricted. Even the Hindi non-theatrical market for Telugu films has seen a huge decline and it would take some time for the situation to turn normal. All the digital players would get big budgets for 2024 but with vast content being made, they would be quite selective. Our filmmakers are worried about the sudden decline in the non-theatrical deals.

All the top production houses are working on multiple films and most of the projects are not being wrapped up on the planned budgets. As they are banking on stars, the filmmakers have been recovering most of their investment through the non-theatrical rights. Now, they are rethinking about the upcoming films and their budgets. There is no clarity about the exact theatrical and non-theatrical market of any star after the ongoing crisis. Most of the production houses are putting some of their projects on hold till the market makes a comeback. 2024 will be a tough year for Telugu cinema and the entire risk falls on the producer.