Speaking about the "irrelevance" of box-office data, Adivi Sesh has commented that, in the long run, only content matters. "Do we care about how much Mayabazaar and Sholay made when they were released? Rather, we are concerned only with how amazing those films are," Sesh said. Sesh's narrative is that collections are the concern solely of trackers and the cinema media. The general audience, if he has to be believed, don't bother about collections. A similar view was expressed by Natural Star Nani a few years ago.
However, this represents only a part of the reality. An increasing section of audience today is excited to know how much big-ticket movies make. This culture has been intensified by the web media in the digital age. That said, the audience don't deserve to be seen idealistically. Their view of some movies undergoes a shift when they learn about their commercial success. Imagine you are watching a commercial entertainer like Waltair Veerayya on TV or OTT. If someone lied to you the movie made losses, you might enjoy it less. Or, you might actually dislike it.
If someone told you a movie currently playing in theatres is on a box-office rampage, you tend to watch it despite not being excited about its trailer.
Producers are aware of this psychology. Which is why posters inflating collections have been the norm in Tollywood.
