Editorial: Small Films, Big Impact — Tollywood’s Dark Horses of 2025

2025 hasn’t been a great year for Tollywood, with several big-ticket films failing to leave a mark at the box office. High-profile releases like Ram Charan’s Game Changer, Pawan Kalyan’s Hari Hara Veera Mallu, and Jr. NTR’s War 2 stand out as the year’s biggest disappointments. Even films that performed comparatively better ended up incurring losses in certain regions.
The numbers of some films might look big, but only when we look at the area-wise details will we understand the challenging phase the industry is currently navigating. Films that delivered profits across all territories can be counted on one’s fingers, highlighting a drastic dip in the success ratio. Amid this grim scenario, two small films defied the odds, created wonders at the box office, and emerged as the true dark horses of Tollywood in 2025.
Court: State vs. Nobody:
The film deals with the misuse of the POCSO Act, a law designed to quickly and effectively convict rapists and pedophiles who target minors. The movie stars Harsh Roshan, Sridevi Apalla, Priyadarshi Pulikonda, Sai Kumar, and Sivaji in important roles.
Court first grabbed attention when its producer, Natural Star Nani, publicly stated that it is a film he would always be proud of and predicted that it would receive a standing ovation. At the pre-release event, Nani went a step further and said, “If you don’t like Court, then don’t watch HIT 3: The Third Case.” No actor would dare to put his own film in a risky zone, but Nani took a bold step. Because of his shocking statement, the courtroom drama generated discussions online, and awareness around the film grew by leaps and bounds.
The Premalo song featuring the lead pair became a huge chartbuster, which also worked in the film’s favour. The team went ahead with paid premieres in India and overseas markets, and the movie opened to superb reviews and strong word of mouth from these early shows. What Nani promised, the film in fact overdelivered.
Riding on the glowing word of mouth, Court went on to achieve the “Blockbuster” tag, earning huge profits for all the buyers. The performances were widely appreciated, especially Sivaji’s portrayal as Mangapathi, which became a major talking point. Interestingly, Court was helmed by debut director Ram Jagadeesh.
The way a newcomer handled such a sensitive subject with high conviction surprised many, and as it truly deserved, Court emerged as a money spinner. The film also packed a punch on OTT.
Little Hearts:
What initially was supposed to be a direct-to-digital release has now ended up changing the careers of lead actors Mouli Tanuj Prashanth and Shivani Nagaram, along with director Sai Marthand. The romantic comedy entertainer, made on a shoestring budget of Rs. 2 crores, went on to earn nearly Rs. 40 crores gross in its lifetime.
The return on investment (ROI) for Little Hearts is something many producers will dream of achieving. At a time when Tollywood has largely been churning out action films, Little Hearts came as a breath of fresh air and satiated the hunger of audiences who wished to see light-hearted entertainers.
The relatable content, fresh casting, healthy humour, and the soundtrack composed by Sinjith Yerramilli emerged as the film’s biggest assets. More than the youthful content, the unique, attention-grabbing, funny, and innovative marketing campaign struck a strong chord with the audience.
Little Hearts also had paid premieres, and the initial positive talk from these special shows helped the movie hold its ground despite competing with noted films. After its OTT launch on ETV Win, audiences from other languages demanded dubbed versions, and the film has now been added to Netflix.
Little Hearts’ magnificent success has instilled confidence in filmmakers that if the content is good and appealing, it doesn’t matter even if the film doesn’t feature top stars. Rajeev Kanakala, SS Kanchi, Jai Krishna, and Nikhil Abburi played key roles, while Aditya Haasan backed the film.
Along with these two films, Raju Weds Rambai, starring newcomers, also performed well relative to its budget. Let’s hope more such small films keep the cash registers ringing while opening doors for new talent.The post Editorial: Small Films, Big Impact — Tollywood’s Dark Horses of 2025 first appeared on Latest Telugu cinema news | Movie reviews | OTT Updates, OTT.