Netflix says it’s doubling down on its slate of South Indian programming, planning to release an average of one new Tamil, Telugu, or Malayalam film each week through the end of the year.
Every year since 2023, Netflix has licensed half or more of the top ten highest-grossing Tamil and Telugu films at the box office.
Youth, With Love, Blast, and Bharathanatyam 2: Mohiniyattam were among the titles that fared well with Netflix audiences in the first half. Made in Korea became the first South Indian title to take the number one spot on the global non-English top ten films list. It made the top ten in more than 50 markets, including Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Venezuela. Upcoming releases following today’s Pyaar Prema Kalyanam include OM—Chapter 1: Udhiram, Ranabaali, and Nani’s Paradise.
Beyond the theatrical lineup, the streamer is expanding its South Indian originals lineup with films and series, among them The Game (Netflix’s first Tamil original series), Super Subbu (Netflix’s first Telugu original series), and Legacy.
Monika Shergill, VP of content at Netflix India, commented, “Bringing audiences a new title from South India every week reflects the depth and variety of Netflix’s programming across Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. By working with both established and emerging talent, we are bringing audiences the range of genres they love. What we are seeing is remarkable: these stories are not only succeeding at home, but traveling around the world—a testament to the authenticity, craft and originality of storytelling from the region.”
Naveen Yerneni, co-founder of Mythri Movie Makers, noted, “Our partnership with Netflix began with Pushpa 2, a big-ticket spectacle on a massive scale, and the film went on to find renewed love from India and around the globe. With thought partners like Netflix in the market, we’re excited to push the creative envelope and deliver not just epic hits like Pushpa, but also story-forward, character-driven films like Dude that have found genuine love with audiences on Netflix. That tells us there’s room for both the big spectacle and the intimate story with heart. We don’t have to choose one lane— we can keep making the big films Telugu audiences expect, while also backing stories that deserve to be told, knowing that with Netflix, these stories will reach the world.”
Archana Kalpathi, creative producer at AGS Entertainment, added, “At AGS, we’ve always believed in small films with big hearts. That philosophy has kept us going as one of the long-standing production houses in Tamil cinema. What’s changed is finding partners who are willing to back that belief. Netflix stood behind Dragon when it was still just a story. It went on to become a top-five box-office hit and then found an entirely new audience on Netflix. When we wanted to make Blast—a female-led action film with very little precedent in Tamil cinema—Netflix backed that too. And with Love Today, we saw a simple gap: audiences wanted romantic comedies, but very few people were making them. At AGS, we’ve always believed in content-oriented cinema and in using our films as a platform to introduce and support new actors and technicians in Tamil cinema. Having a partner like Netflix, who shares that willingness to bet on the story and the talent behind it, has helped us continue doing that. For us, it has always been about the story first. Having a partner willing to make that same bet has allowed us to take bigger creative risks, back new voices and talent, and still make the kind of films AGS has always set out to make.”
