As 2025 moves forward, Tollywood fans may feel disappointed. Many top Telugu actors will not have any movie releases this year. While some are taking time to plan their next big films, others are busy with long production schedules. One actor who continues to release a movie every year is Natural Star Nani. But most leading stars are taking longer breaks between films. Here’s a look at some of the major actors who will be missing from the big screen in 2025:

Mahesh Babu is working with director SS Rajamouli on a massive project. However, the film is still in early stages, and no release date has been announced. Fans will likely not see Mahesh Babu in theatres in 2025 or even in 2026.

NTR (Jr. NTR) last appeared in Devara, which released during the 2024 Dasara festival. In 2025, he won’t have a new Telugu release, although War 2, a Hindi film, is expected to hit screens. His next big film, Dragon, directed by Prashanth Neel, is set for a 2026 release.

Prabhas is currently on a short break and is yet to confirm release dates for his upcoming films. Though he has movies like Spirit, Raja Saab, and Fauji lined up, there are no confirmed releases for 2025.

Ram Charan, after the disappointing performance of Game Changer, is focusing on a rural sports drama titled Peddi, directed by Buchi Babu Sana. The movie is planned for release in March 2026, meaning no new Ram Charan films this year.

Allu Arjun enjoyed massive success with Pushpa 2, which released in December 2024. He is now preparing for a film with director Atlee, but the shoot won’t begin until October. This film is expected in 2027, so Allu Arjun will also be absent in 2025 and likely 2026.

With so many top actors skipping 2025, it’s a quieter year for Telugu cinema. However, fans can look forward to some exciting releases in the years to come.

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Natural Star Nani and actress Anushka Shetty are both big names in the Telugu film industry. Nani is loved for his natural acting, while Anushka is known for her powerful screen presence. Though fans always wished to see this duo together on screen, it never happened.

Interestingly, a movie was planned with Nani and Anushka as the lead pair. That film was Miss Shetty Mr. Polishetty, which later became a super hit with Anushka Shetty and Naveen Polishetty in lead roles. Initially, the makers had approached Nani for the male lead opposite Anushka.

Nani has expressed his respect for Anushka in many interviews, calling her a talented and graceful actress. However, when offered Miss Shetty Mr. Polishetty, he had to say no. Why? Reports say Nani was busy with other film commitments at that time and couldn’t adjust his dates. Also, he felt that the role eventually played by Naveen Polishetty did not suit his style of acting.

Though it was a big opportunity to work with a star like Anushka, Nani decided to step away for personal and professional reasons. As a result, the chance to see the Nani–Anushka combo on the big screen was lost.

Now, this news has gone viral on social media. Fans are disappointed that this interesting pairing didn’t happen. Still, they remain hopeful that the two actors might team up for another project in the future.

Currently, Nani is enjoying the success of Hit 3 and is busy with upcoming films. Anushka, on the other hand, continues to pick selective and strong roles post-Baahubali.

Nani’s latest Telugu movie Hit 3 has been performing well at the box office since its release on May 1, 2025. The film is the third installment in the Hit franchise and is gaining attention both in India and globally. Nani, who plays the lead role, recently shared in an interview that Kamal Haasan is his inspiration, showing how much the role means to him.

On Day 5 (Monday), Hit 3 collected around ₹4.15 crore, as per box office tracking reports. This was only a slight drop from its weekend performance, showing the film’s strong hold even on weekdays. By the end of Day 5, the movie had reached a total collection of ₹56.30 crore.

 

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Looking at Day 6 (Tuesday), early estimates suggest that the movie may see a minor dip in numbers due to the working day. Morning figures indicate collections of around ₹0.06 crore, but as the day progresses, it is expected to earn between ₹3.5 to ₹4 crore. If this happens, Hit 3 will cross the ₹60 crore mark in just six days, which is an impressive feat.

The film was reportedly made with a budget of ₹60–65 crore. Given its steady collections, it is likely to break even soon and generate profits. The strong start with ₹21 crore on Day 1 set the tone, followed by consistent numbers over the weekend.

Here’s a quick look at the day-wise earnings:

Day 1 (Thursday): ₹21 crore
Day 2 (Friday): ₹10.5 crore
Day 3 (Saturday): ₹10.4 crore
Day 4 (Sunday): ₹10.25 crore
Day 5 (Monday): ₹4.15 crore

Fans and critics alike are praising the film’s action, direction, and Nani’s performance. With growing interest and positive word-of-mouth, Hit 3 is likely to enjoy a successful run at the box office.

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HIT: The Third Case (also known as HIT 3) is the latest film in the popular HIT franchise. This Telugu language action thriller released in theatres on May 1, 2025. Within just three days, the film collected over ₹82 crore worldwide.

The movie stars Nani in the lead role as SP Arjun Sarkaar who is a police officer who goes undercover to investigate a dark web network. This group known as CTK is involved in dangerous crimes like ritual killings and illegal organ trade. The film continues the story from HIT: The Second Case building on the crime investigation universe created by director Sailesh Kolanu.

 

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Produced by Wall Poster Cinema and Unanimous Productions, the film features a strong cast including Srinidhi Shetty as ASP Mridula, Komalee Prasad, Rao Ramesh, Samuthirakani and Ravindra Vijay. There are also special appearances by actors Adivi Sesh and Karthi connecting it to earlier parts of the HIT franchise.

The movie was filmed in different parts of India including Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam and Jammu & Kashmir. It was officially announced in 2022 and began shooting in September 2024. The technical team includes cinematographer Sanu John Varghese, music director Mickey J. Meyer and editor Karthika Srinivas.

On social media, the production team called the film’s success the “Sarkaar Show,” referring to Nani’s powerful performance. They also revealed that more than one million tickets were sold on BookMyShow in just three days showing how much audiences are enjoying the movie.

The story is told in a step by step police investigation format, which keeps viewers engaged. The post credit scene hints at a possible sequel.

Now fans are waiting to see if HIT 3 can continue its strong performance in the coming weeks especially after the weekend boost.

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Nani’s latest film HIT: The Third Case (also called HIT 3) is making headlines at the box office. Released on May 1, 2025 this Telugu action-thriller has managed to attract a large number of moviegoers in just a few days. Directed by Sailesh Kolanu this is the third film in the popular HIT franchise. With strong expectations from fans and critics the film had a solid start.

On the first day HIT 3 earned an impressive ₹21 crore across languages including Telugu, Hindi, Tami,l Malayalam and Kannada. The second day however saw a drop in collections bringing in around ₹10.5 crore. Still the two-day total stood at ₹31.5 crore in India and ₹54 crore worldwide thanks to a strong overseas response.

 

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Saturday (Day 3) brought good news for the makers. The film picked up pace again earning over ₹5.4 crore by 7 PM. This upward trend shows that audiences are returning to theatres over the weekend. The total estimated collection in India now stands at ₹36.91 crore.

The film features Nani in a violent and intense role along with co-stars Srinidhi Shetty and Prateik Smita Patil. It has been released with a budget of around ₹60–65 crore. In just three days the film has already recovered about 50% of its production cost.

Occupancy rates on Saturday were also positive. Morning shows had over 35% attendance while afternoon shows went up to nearly 59%. These figures suggest that the film could do even better by the end of the weekend.

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Actor Nani’s latest film, HIT: The Third Case (also known as HIT 3) had a strong opening at the box office. The action-packed crime thriller was released on May 1, 2025 and gained attention for Nani’s intense performance as a police officer named Arjun Sarkaar. The film is directed by Sailesh Kolanu who also made the earlier parts in the HIT series.

On its first day, HIT 3 collected an impressive Rs 19 crore from all language versions. This included earnings from Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi and Malayalam screenings. The movie also had high occupancy in theatres especially in Telugu-speaking states.

However on the second day (May 2) film saw a major drop in collections. According to early trade reports, the film earned around Rs 4.69 crore by 7 PM. This marks a drop of nearly 75% from its opening day. Despite the fall film’s total collection has reached approximately Rs 23.69 crore in two days.

HIT 3 is reportedly made on a budget of around Rs 60 crore. Trade experts say that the film still has a chance to recover 50% of its cost by the end of its first weekend especially if the weekend turnout is strong.

The movie has also generated buzz about its OTT release. It is expected to premiere on JioHotstar once its theatrical run ends.

While the Day 2 drop is significant, the strong opening and weekend potential keep the film in the game.