Kollywood has created a new record in 2010 by releasing 150 films the highest number of films released in the history of Tamil cinema. This year is said to be the landmark with the release of 150 straight films and 42 dubbed films. Kollywood is booming, 95 percent of the films released this year are from new production houses, which were launched in the last three years. Veteran producers have gone into shell as the production values have changed drastically. Today the average cost of making and marketing a film with debutants is any where between Rs 4-5 crore. Surprisingly out of 150 films released this year, 63 films have fetched the collection of less than 25 lakhs from the theaters, which is shocking news for the filmmakers.
This year hardly a dozen of films have recovered the production cost and earned sizeable profits. And the stars have increased their salary by 200 percent without considering the reach. Kollywood have seen many failures than averages and hits this year. The success graph has been drastically down in 2010. Here is the analysis of Kollywood box office. Take a glance.
2010 hit films:
The films which are released in 2010 are in high in number, but the numbers of the films which are blockbuster hits or hits are comparatively very low in number. Only 11 films have been successful at the box office in 2010. Let’s take a look at the films.
Thamizh Padam
Thamizh Padam has bagged a hit at the start of the year and everyone has come to an opinion that the year is going to excel.  The film has brought in a new genre to Kollywood and was a super success at the box office. The film was made on a budget of Rs 2.5 crore and the trade reports reveal that the film has collected Rs 8.23 crore
Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa
Gautham Menon’s direction, AR Rahman’s music along with the star cast has paved for the film to be a hit. The film was released in Tamil and Telugu and received great reviews. The film was made with a budget of Rs 14 crores and has earned Rs 18 crores at the box office. Undoubtedly the film enrolled itself as the first biggest hit of the year-2010.
Angadi Theru
The film with realistic touch has pulled the audience to the big screen. Angadi Theru directed by Vasanthabalan has enough drama and has brought the inhuman situations that happen in Chennai’s city life. The film received positive reviews and was appreciated by critics for the honest and brave attempt. The budget of the film is Rs 3 crore and to a surprise the film collected Rs 15 crore at the box office and stood as a big hit in 2010.
Paiyaa
Paiyaa starring Karthi and Tamannah in the lead roles is said to be a surprise hit of the year. Directed by Lingusamy the film has nothing to mention special but the presentation and music apart from Tamannah’s glamour made the film to list in the hit list of 2010. Paiyaa was made with a budget of Rs 12 crore and the film collected Rs 30 crore.
Singam
Suriya has reached the big screen as Singam directed by Hari. The film is an action entertainer and had a great reach in the mass audience. The highlights of the film are Suriya, seducing beauty Anushka and Devi Sri Prasad’s music. Singam was made with a budget of Rs 15crore and has collected approximately Rs 40crore. The film is strictly declared as a hit and it was a great treat for Suriya’s fans.
Kalavani
The film is indeed a surprise hit of the year and surely need to be listed in the top list. The lead pair Vimal and Ooviya has done a great job and the film is said to be a full time entertainer. The budget of the film is Rs 1.5crore and the gross revenue is Rs 3.5crore.
Madraspattinam
The film has taken Arya to the next level and Vijay’s skills in direction paved the way for the success of the film. This historical drama starring Arya and Amy Jackson in the lead roles created waves at the box office. The budget of the film is Rs 40crore and the film has earned the expected revenues.
Boss Engira Baskaran
Arya’s second hit film in 2010, the film is released on EID day with 240 screens. Surprisingly the film made the best ever opening on the first day with 95.5 percent theater occupancy. The film is an out and out comedy entertainer with Arya and Nayanthara playing the lead roles. Director Rajesh has once again succeeded in entertaining the audience.
Endhiran
Endhiran blockbuster of the year and the highest grosser at the box office proved that Indian cinema is no where lesser than a Hollywood film. Shankar’s direction, Rajinikanth’s acting style and Aishwarya’s glamour, A R Rahman’s musical extravaganza are said to be the key factors of the success. The high technical values, along with science fiction theme made Endhiran a must watch film. Sun pictures have produced with a budget of Rs160 crore and the film earned a gross revenue of Rs 400crore.
Nandalala
The film is all about the journey of a boy in search of his mother and the director joins the journey in the midway, which is enjoyable. Though the film resembles a Japanese film, director has added the Tamil flavor to the film and succeeded in entertaining the audience.
Average and above average films
To start with Kutty the film released with high expectations as the film stars Dhanush and Shriya Saran in the lead roles. Upon the release the film received mixed reviews and was an average entertainer. Following Kutty is Vishal’s Theeradha Vilaiyattu Pillai, which was promoted by Sun pictures and produced by G.K Film Corporation received positive reviews and it is said to be true come back for Vishal.
Rettaisuzhi, though the film stars ace filmmakers like K. Balachander and Bharathiraja, produced by director Shankar under his production house S Pictures received mixed reviews by the critics. Irumbukkottai Murattu Singam is a different genre film with Lawrence, Sandhya, Padmapriya, Lakshmi Rai and Nasser in the lead roles. The film is a western adventure cowboy story in the 17th century. The film is said to be an above average film at the box office. Jayam Ravi’s Thillalangadi is yet another film, which received mixed reviews and was declared as an average film by the film buffs.
Naan Mahaan Alla starring Karthi and Kajal in the lead roles opened with positive reviews and was declared as an average performer at the box office. The title of the film is taken from 1984 Rajinikanth’s film is based on a real life incident.  Unfortunately Dhanush’s second release in 2010 turned out to be an average film. Though the film was released for Diwali, it failed to fetch the audience to the big screens.
VA quarter cutting directed by Pushkar-Gayathri is based on Chennai night life. The film stars SPB Charan and Lekha Washington in the lead roles. The film ended as an average entertainer. The romantic travelogue Chikku Bukku starring Arya and Shriya Saran in the lead roles is all about that happens between the lead pair during their journey from London to Karaikudi falls in the list of average entertainers. Here comes the big hero Vijayakanth with Virudhagiri. He debuted as a director with this film and he used the film as a communication tool to express his thoughts and on par tried to reach the expectations of the audience.
In the closing stages of the year director Sasikumar has come up with Easan. After gaining hit with Subramaniapuram the director came up with a film which narrates the dangers of city. Though being a commercial entertainer the film could make only average collections at the box office. Finally Manmadhan Ambu reached the screens with high expectations. Though the film has big stars and was produced on high budget the film was an average performer.
Flops and Mega flops of 2010
The failure rate is more than the success ratio. So let’s take a look at the flops of 2010 quickly.
Sarath Kumar’s ‘Jaggubhai’ is the first big disaster of the year. The film was on the internet even before its release. Sarath Kumar and Shriya Saran are seen in the lead roles. Goa jointly produced by Hollywood production house Warner Bros Pictures and Soundarya Rajinikanth’s Ocher Picture Productions turned out to be a big let down.  The next disaster is the high budget film Asal, which failed to create ripples at the box office. Ajith and Sameera Reddy are seen in the lead roles. Though the film opened with huge openings, but soon lost its charm and turned as dud at the box office. Continuing the same legacy films like In Porkkalam, Aval Peyar Thamizharasi, Mathi Yosi and Mundhinam Partheney entered the battle and made their presence in the flop list.
Here comes the Raavanan, one of the high expectations film released this year. The big budget and big stars couldn’t help for the success of the film. Another distress is followed by Raavanan is Vijay starrer Sura. Vijay who is facing continuous flops from the past two years have joined Sura to his flop list. ‘Orr Iravu’ a small budget but brave film also travelled with the above flops. ‘Ananthapurathu Veedu’ of Shankar’s home production too failed to get audience to the theaters. Both Baana Kaathadi and Vamsam released in the month of August failed to grab the attention of the audience for along time and turned as below average films. Suriya has tasted both sweet and sour in 2010 with Singam being a hit and Raththa Sarithram being a disaster. Following his brother Suriya, Karthi also had a disaster with Aayirathil Oruvan in 2010.
Apart from the above films Bharath’s Thambikku Indha Ooru, Jai‘s Kanimozhi, Arjun starrer Vallakottai, Shanthnoo’s Siddhu plus two, Jeeva’s Kacheri Aarambam and Thaa were unnoticed and therefore joined the bandwagon of the flop lists.
Here is the list of the films released with high expectations in 2010
S.NO Movie Cast Released        Month Status
1 Aayirathil Oruvan Karthi Sivakumar, Reemma Sen, Andrea Jeremiah, January Disaster
2 Kutty Dhanush, Shriya Saran, January Average
3 Porkkalam Kishore, Sathyan, Smitha, January Disaster
4 Goa Jai, Premji Amaren, Vaibhav Reddy, Sneha January Disaster
5 Jaggubhai Sarath Kumar, Shriya Saran, January Disaster
6 Thamizh Padam Shiva, Disha Pandey January Hit
7 Aasal Ajith Kumar, Sameera Reddy, Bhavana Menon February Disaster
8 Theeradha Vilaiyattu Pillai Vishal Krishna, Neetu Chandra, Tanushree Dutta February Average
9 Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa Silambarasan,Trisha Krishnan February Hit
10 Aval Peyar Thamizharasi Jai, Nandagi March Disaster
11 Thambikku Indha Ooru Bharath, Sana Khan,Madalsa Sharma March Disaster
12 Maathi Yosi Shammu, Harish, Gopal, Alex, Lokesh March Disaster
13 Kacheri Arambam Jeeva, Poonam Bajwa, J. D. Chakravarthy March Disaster
14 Angaadi Theru Mahesh, Anjali March Hit
15 Paiyaa Karthi, Tamannaah Bhatia, Milind Soman, Sonia Deepti April Hit
16 Rettaisuzhi K.Balachander, Bharathiraja, Anjali April Average
17 Sura Vijay, Tamannaah April Disaster
18 Irumbu Kottai Murattu Singam Raghava Lawrence, Lakshmi Rai, Padmapriya, Sandhya May Average
19 Singam Surya Sivakumar, Anushka Shetty May Hit
20 Orr Eravu Sathish, Avantika, Ajay June Disaster
21 Raavanan Vikram, Aishwarya Rai, Prithviraj, Karthik, Prabhu, Priyamani June Disaster
22 Kalavani Vimal, Oviya June Super Hit
23 Anandhapurathu Veedu Nandha, Chaya Singh July Disaster
24 Madrasapattinam Arya, Amy Jackson July Super Hit
25 Thillalangadi Jayam Ravi, Tamannaah Bhatia, Shaam July Above Average
26 Baana Kaathadi Adharvaa, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Prasanna August Disaster
27 Vamsam Arulnidhi, Sunaina August Disaster
28 Naan Mahaan Alla Karthi, Kajal August Average
29 Boss Engira Bhaskaran Arya, Nayantara, Santhanam September Hit
30 Vandae Maatharam Mammootty, Arjun, Jai Akash, Sneha September Disaster
31 Enthiran Rajinikanth, Aishwarya Rai October Super Hit
32 Mynaa Vidharth, Amala Paul November Hit
33 Uthama Puthiran Dhanush, Genelia November Average
34 VA Quarter Cutting SPB Charan, Lekha Washington November Average
35 Vallakottai Arjun, Haripriya November Disaster
36 Kanimozhi Jai, Shazahn Padamsee November Disaster
37 Nandalala Myshkin, Snigdha Akolkar, Ashwath Ram November Hit
38 Chikku Bukku Arya, Shriya Saran, Preetika Rao December Average
39 Thaa Sri Hari, Nisha December Disaster
40 Ayyanar Aadhi, Meera Nandan December Below Average
41 Sanikizhamai Sayangalam 5 Mani Sarath, Malini December Disaster
42 Siddu+2 Shanthnoo Bhagyaraj, Chandini December Disaster
43 Virudhagiri Vijayakanth, Meenakshi Dixit December Below Average
44 Aattanayagan Sakthi Vasu, Ramya Nambeesan December Disaster
45 Easan Samudrakani, A. L. Alagappan, Vaibhav Reddy, Abhinaya December Average
46 Nil Gavani Sellathey Anand K. Chakravarthy, Jagan, Dhansika, Lakshmi Nair December Below Average
47 Manmadhan Ambu Kamal Haasan, R. Madhavan, Trisha Krishnan December Average
48 Aridhu Aridhu Harish Kalyan, Uttara Raj, Princess Jasmine December Below Average
49 Chutti Chathan Baby Sonia, Prakash Raj, Santhanam December Below Average
50 Nellu Sathya, Bhaghyanjali December Disaster





On a whole, In 2010 Kollywood has faced the highest number of flops. The industry failed to make profits despite of making films with high budget and top stars. The main drawback of the failures is said to be poor subjects handled by the film makers. The film’s success is nowhere concerned with the budget and star cast, it is only a good script that grabs the attention of the audience.
Well, we have made the fair judgment in analyzing the hits and flops of 2010. Hope you agree with our list else to post your comments below.

Recent Posts: