There was a time when the U.S. market operated based on names. For example, Mahesh Babu’s name was enough for Telugu folks in the U.S. to rush to theaters, and a few directors also enjoyed this privilege.
However, that era is now in the past. There has been a significant shift in the mindset of audiences in the North American market. Audiences in this market no longer rely on stars or big names; they are only excited by content, not combinations.
Movies with regular, routine stories will be outright rejected right from their premieres going forward. Could anyone in their wildest dreams have ever imagined a film starring Mahesh and Trivikram would bring losses to a U.S. distributor, while a film from Prasanth Varma with Teja Sajja would beat this big film easily?
The same happened with ‘Tillu Square’; Siddu, hardly two films old as a theatrical hero, outperformed the film of the biggest superstar comfortably.
The shift in audience mindset is clear, and it is up to the folks in the U.S. trade to see the shift and quote prices, or they will have sleepless nights.
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