Ram Charan starrer Telugu film RRR, for instance, which was to stream 75-100 days after theatrical release, has launched on OTT within two months owing to underwhelming response to the film.

A bunch of films including SS Rajamouli’s RRR, Vijay’s Beast and Telugu film Acharya have opted for quicker OTT premieres than previously decided to make up for box office losses, reviving the debate on shrinking window between theatrical and digital release of movies. Ram Charan starrer Telugu film RRR, for instance, which was to stream 75-100 days after theatrical release, has launched on OTT within two months owing to underwhelming response to the film. Several others are streaming less than a month after their release in theatres.

“RRR was sold at astronomical rates to distributors before release but the box office results were not at par. While the film is definitely not a flop, one has to take into account the fact that a lot has changed post the pandemic, several screens are shut for good and it is easy for content to seem disappointing when audiences have been exposed to such high quality standards," said a film trade expert who did not wish to be named.

By narrowing the window between theatre and digital release, film producers are able to command a premium of ₹ 5 crore and ₹ 10 crore from the streaming platform, the person said.

Independent trade analyst Sreedhar Pillai said producers do not want to admit that the power of theatrical medium has declined. High ticket prices and more audiences having discovered OTT over the past two years is leading to lower footfalls, especially in north India, he said. “The 100-day window for ’83 killed the film. In fact, even KGF: Chapter 2, which is a hit, has gone for early access through Amazon Prime Video’s pay-per-view model," said Pillai who believes the window will go down further by the end of the year.

One of the key changes in streaming rights for theatrical films has been the lower urgency by platforms in acquiring rights especially to mid and small-budget films and films for direct-to-digital premieres, Gautam Jain, partner at media consulting firm Ormax said. “Earlier, due to the pandemic, platforms were paying a premium to acquire streaming rights. However, they now prefer that films first release in theatres. For big-budget films, the valuations are linked to their box office performance," he said.

Without doubt, movies attract viewers on OTT platforms. In the week of 16-22 May, four Indian titles featured in Netflix’s list of top 10 non-English films across the world. These included Gangubai Kathiawadi, RRR (Hindi), Jersey and Raw (Hindi) with 8.8 million, 7.1 million, 4.4 million and 2.5 million hours viewed at last count.

However, multiplexes remain hopeful of release windows reverting to original eight-week gaps. Rajendar Singh Jyala, chief programming officer at INOX Leisure Ltd said the third covid wave had disrupted several plans and all films that had to be pushed owing to the same had locked in four-week windows for digital premieres in mutual agreement with theatres.

“We believe windows help all stakeholders and benefit the entire ecosystem. The windows were adjusted due to the on-going pandemic, on a temporary basis. We will be reverting to the erstwhile eight-week window by the end of July, 2022," Kamal Gianchandani, CEO, PVR Pictures Ltd said.

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