The Sequel Trend Dominates Tollywood While Kollywood Struggles to Keep Up

The craze for sequels is proving to be a major success formula in Tollywood, even for small and medium-budget films. This trend, which gained momentum with Baahubali, was further solidified by Pushpa 2. Now, continuing the streak, MAD Square is set to release on March 28, riding on strong buzz and anticipation.

Sequels Creating Waves Across Indian Cinema

The sequel fever isn’t limited to Tollywood. In Bollywood, films like Gadar 2 and Stree 2 shattered box office records, becoming the highest-grossing films of their respective years. The Kannada film industry also witnessed a historic moment with KGF Chapter 2, which became a massive success. Meanwhile, Mollywood is gearing up for one of its biggest sequels yet—L2: Empuraan, starring Mohanlal.

Kollywood’s Struggles with Sequels

However, this winning formula hasn’t worked as well for Kollywood. Films like 2.0 and Ponniyin Selvan 2 failed to match the success of their predecessors. The much-hyped Indian 2 faced a harsh reality as it was outright rejected by audiences, becoming a major box office disaster.

Despite these setbacks, Kollywood still holds hope with upcoming sequels like Jailer 2 and Kaithi 2, which are generating considerable excitement. It remains to be seen whether these films can revive the sequel trend in Tamil cinema and replicate the success seen in other industries.