‘Su From So’: How an unheralded Kannada film broke marketing norms to set box office records

Three days in the past, Su From So was an unheralded movie. Immediately, it has shaken the Kannada movie business, reiterating the significance of high quality content material and prompting filmmakers to reassess their promotional methods. Su From So, launched through the cataclysmic run of Saiyaara, the Hindi love story that has revived the romance style in Bollywood. The entertaining F1, which had crossed the ₹100 crore-mark in India, was nonetheless a sizzling property in Bengaluru. And Telugu star Pawan Kalyan’s much-awaited Hari Hara Veera Mallu was anticipated to attain large.

Nonetheless, three days after its theatrical launch, Su From So has conquered each hurdle in its path to interrupt field workplace information. It’s a shock hit of 2025. “Three days in the past, Su From So was an unknown challenge. Immediately, you’ve made it one of the thrilling movies of the yr,” Raj B Shetty, who co-produced the film, wrote on social media.

The numbers related to Su From So are mind-boggling. The movie created historical past when one lakh twenty-seven thousand tickets acquired bought on the ticketing app BookMyShow on Saturday (July 26, 2025). No Kannada movie has loved this quantity of ticket gross sales in a single day on the net platform. On Sunday, Su From So loved greater than 550 housefull reveals throughout India, a terrific quantity contemplating the extended lull within the Kannada movie business in 2025.

Raj, other than co-producing the film, performs a distinguished character in Su From So, however his position was stored a secret. The director of acclaimed movies like Ondu Motteya Kathe and Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana might have been the face of the movie, however selected to not hog the limelight of a film crammed with recent faces in Kannada. One video message from Raj proved to be game-changing.

A nonetheless from ‘Su From So’.
| Photograph Credit score:
Particular Association

“We all know that you’re uninterested in pre-release interviews and reactions from movie star reveals. We aren’t doing them for our film. We would like you all to be our sincere promoters. Watch our movie and unfold the phrase,” the actor-director had urged, as he introduced paid-premiere reveals in Shivamogga, Mysuru, Mangaluru, and Bengaluru.

Bharath Sudhama, co-founder of movie advertising firm The Massive Little, feels Raj pulled off a coup along with his assertion. “Saying you received’t promote a movie is itself a promotion. It means that you’re telling the viewers you’re fully assured about your content material. Individuals stroll into the theatres wanting to love the film due to the daring step from the makers,” he analyses. “It’s like Upendra saying his movie is just for the clever ones (bhuddivantharige maatra). All people would wish to be referred to as clever to look at his motion pictures.”

After avoiding the customary YouTube appearances, Su From So banked on their content material to do the speaking. The hilarious trailer and the peppy dance quantity, referred to as ‘Dank Anthem’, had given the film some benefit. Publish its launch, the excellent phrase of mouth has bolstered ticket gross sales. “We’re getting requests for extra reveals,” Raj instructed reporters. On Sunday, 72 early-morning reveals (EMS, earlier than 9:00 am) had been added in Bengaluru theatres, an unprecedented improvement.

Bharath says the business should be cautious and never see this low-key promotion technique as a method. “Minimal promotions won’t work for an additional film as a result of it could not garner distinctive word-of-mouth within the preliminary section. You may’t criticise a crew that opts for vibrant promotional strategies simply because one film tasted success with out promotional actions. Each movie crew has to discover a distinctive choice to swimsuit its content material,” explains Bharath.

A nonetheless from ‘Su From So’.
| Photograph Credit score:
Lighter Buddha Movies/YouTube

Identical to Kirik Party (2016), Kantara (2022), and 777 Charlie (2022), it’s a crew from the coastal Karnataka area that has resurrected a struggling business with a refreshing topic aimed toward entertaining the household viewers. Su From So, directed by common Tulu theatre artiste and movie actor JP Thuminad, is a rip-roaring horror comedy set in a village in Dakshina Kannada. Marked by glorious performances, the movie makes for an amazing group viewing, because it weaves an necessary message with a rooted presentation, sustaining the flavour of the backdrop.

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“The movie jogged my memory of my Sarkari Hiriya Prathamika Shaale Kasaragodu (2018),” stated Rishab Shetty on X, referring to his third directorial, which was additionally a fantastic amalgamation of message and leisure. Su From So, following a stupendous begin, is ready to go locations. Dulquer Salman’s Wayfarer Movies will distribute the Malayalam dubbed model of the film in Kerala from August 01, 2025. Anil Thadani’s AA Movies has bagged the North India distribution rights for the film. Phars Movie Co. LLC is in talks to launch the film abroad.

Revealed – July 28, 2025 12:07 am IST