More box-office hits: Producers hope 8-week gap between a theatre and OTT release will bring back glory to Bollywood films -BigStory – Times of India

During the pandemic and lockdowns though, producers and exhibitors had agreed on a shorter period, realising that an OTT premiere made more sense as audience’s weren’t exactly flocking to the theatres. But, the recent spate of box office successes has inspired producers and studios to re-negotiate with theatres.

Devang Sampat of Cinepolis spoke to ETimes and revealed, “It is a great move. Any way, the previous arrangement was temporary and now studios are coming and saying that if the gap is about 8 weeks, the box office results are proving to be better. During COVID times this gap was 4 weeks but now producers are reaching out and saying that 8 weeks is a better deal.”

Producer and film expert Girish Johar felt the reasons to return to the 8 week arrangement were born out of urgent necessity. He explained, “Audiences have been dwindling in the cinemas. People prefer to wait for a few weeks and watch the new releases at lower prices and the comfort of their homes, once they release on OTT. The makers have realized that this habit will not be fruitful in the long run. So like the South fraternity, the Hindi makers decided to revert to the 8-week window between theatrical and OTT releases. Also since OTT platforms are not paying as cash-rich prices as before, it was a logical decision to strengthen the exhibition revenue chain.”

Producer of Vidyut Jamwal’s ‘Khuda Haafiz 2’, Ram Mirchandani said, “Our film, Khuda Haafiz 2, which has released this week will stick to the four weeks gap before it’s digital release. But, I personally feel if the gap was six weeks, it will be a win win for both the parties.”

Manoj Desai, executive director, G7 multiplex and Maratha Mandir Cinema felt the gap should be increased even more. He added, “Eight weeks are also too less. Movies should release on OTT after 13-14 weeks. Back in the days, I couldn’t release my film ‘Khuda Gawah’ on TV for five years because that was the agreement with the distributor. It was so strict back then, but OTT has made it challenging and we can’t do much.” But he did welcome the 8-week gap over the 4-week one.

Producer Ratan Jain reiterated audience behaviour and said, “A gap of 8 weeks between theatre and OTT release will be good news for the industry. Otherwise, if the gap is four weeks, people tend to not go to the cinemas and wait for the film to release on OTT.”

Senior exhibitor Nitin Datar explained, “It is a good move and this will help single screen cinema chains tide over the loses that they incurred during the pandemic. Also, it will help break the habit of film buffs who had stopped from going to theatres.”

Manoj Desai felt that Bollywood’s content is no-longer enticing enough to attract mass audiences. He said, “Bollywood needs to rework its content. Theatre owners have to resort to showing more and more South dubbed movies, which work very well, be it ‘RRR’, ‘Pushpa’, ‘KGF 1’ or ‘KGF 2’. I wonder where the standard gor lost? We need to make the kind of movies that Manmohan Desai and Yash Chopra used to make. OTT platforms are now showcasing packaged deals, which is further spelling trouble for exhibitors.”

Girish Johar explained that the time was right for this move. He said, “The pandemic has more or less subsided so its safe for audiences to come back to theatres. That’s the reason this critical move is being pursued. It will surely add some percentage of audiences back to theaters and it will give a breather to the exhibition revenue exploitation. Right weeks is a big gap and we, as a fraternity, hope that it will entice the audiences back to theatres. It will also help makers to get more revenue from OTT, as they are now moving into post-theatrical rights pegging their price with the film’s BO performance.”

So, with the 8-week system in place, a successful film like ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2’ will be able to leverage a better price with an OTT platform, having proved that it’s a sought-after product.