For the past many years, Sankranthi has ceased to belong to younger heroes. With rare exceptions, most of the time since 2017, relatively younger superstars have had a tough time scoring Sankranthi hits.
The Big 4 heroes (Chiranjeevi, Balakrishna, Nagarjuna and Venkatesh) of the previous generation have held sway, while younger superstars like Pawan Kalyan, Mahesh Babu and Ram Charan have failed to make the mark during Sankranthi releases. Superstars like Prabhas and Jr NTR haven't had Sankranthi releases for nearly eight years.
2017: Chiranjeevi's Khaidi No. 150 and Nandamuri Balakrishna's Gautamiputra Satakarni worked at the box office. There were no movies from younger superstars that year.
2018: Pawan Kalyan's Agnyaathavaasi was a disaster.
2019: Ram Charan's Vinaya Vidheya Rama was a disaster. On the other hand, a film starring a senior superstar like Venkatesh, titled F2 was a blockbuster.
2020: This was an exception. Allu Arjun's Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo became a blockbuster. Mahesh Babu's Sarileru Neekevvaru was a hit as well.
2021: This was a rare year, considering Sankranthi releases reeled under the threat of a new Covid wave. There were no superstar movie releases in Telugu.
2022: Nagarjuna's Bangarraju raked in the moolah.
2023: Once again, this year witnessed no hits from younger superstars. Chiranjeevi's Waltair Veerayya and Balakrishna's Veera Simha Reddy made monies.
2024: Mahesh Babu's Guntur Kaaram didn't do well. Nagarjuna's Naa Saami Ranga was no hit, while Venkatesh's Saindhav was a flop.
2025: Once again, a young hero's film bit the dust. Ram Charan-starrer Game Changer has lost out to films starring Balakrishna (Daaku Maharaaj) and Venkatesh (Sankranthiki Vasthunam).
