The euphoria around the re-releases of Vijay's Ghilli (re-released in 2024) and Superstar Rajinikanth's Padayappa (re-released in 2025 to celebrate the icon's 75th birthday) and the massive crowd pull they enjoyed set the standard for re-releases. Yet, of late, the trend seems to have hit headwinds. What began as a niche celebration that was driven by audiences' eagerness to relive theatrical experiences of films that evoked nostalgia and was embraced by cinemas has now become mainstream and mundane.
Exhibitors prefer to play it safe
Exhibitors say they prefer to not take risks and largely prefer to re-release movies with big names. Exhibitor Ruban Mathivanan, of GK Cinemas, says that in order to keep fan excitement for re-releases stable, a few theatres have had to lower the ticket prices. He adds, "We also replay certain iconic songs and moments from re-releases for fans. We even use special effects and let fans dance in front and sing along, too."
'THE TREND BEGAN PRE-COVID'
Vishnu Kamal, managing director of Kamala Cinemas, says, "We started the trend of releasing old classic or cult films first pre-COVID, which turned into a gold mine for the industry." However, he admits the excitement has reduced of late. "What started off as a niche celebration of films during festivals or star birthdays has lately grown to become a mundane mainstream exercise. The excitement is starting to fade with too many re-releases within too few months lately."
'WE CAN'T GUARANTEE IF RE-RELEASES WILL DO WELL'
One of the main concerns with re-releasing movies is the uncertainty of how well they might do in the theatres. "Even when films are released for the first time, we can't guarantee if they will do well or not. So, imagine the state of re-releases," remarks director Linguswamy, whose 2010 film Paiyaa hit screens in 2024. "That was a favourite with fans because it is filled with good music and youthful vibes. But a film that did well back then doesn't guarantee it will do well now," he shares and cites his own movie Anjaan (re-released in 2025) muted run as an example.
'RE-RELEASES ARE SUITED MAINLY FOR BIG STARS' FILMS'
The unpredictable nature of people's preferences in movies made the industry rely heavily on movies featuring big stars to avoid financial strain. And re-releases seem to be no exception. "Re-releases are generally ideal for films that have big big actors. It's rare to see a re-release of films starring actors who haven't made it big yet," states director KS Ravikumar, whose Padayappa was re-released in theatres on December 12, 2025, on Rajinikanth's birthday. "Re-releases of actors Vijay, Ajith and Dhanush films always have full houses in our theatre. Ajith's Mankatha, which was re-released in January this year, was a blockbuster," shares Vishnu Kamal and adds, "But recently, a few films that did not feature these stars did well, but not to the level of their re-releases."
— Compiled by Geethika Sai
