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Streaming services have become circumspect in acquiring movies after works either failed to get viewership or bombed at the box office, according to a report by Mint.
This has resulted in an increasing number of films are now being screened in cinemas without OTT (over the top) deals. In recent months, several Hindi language films, including ‘Aankh Micholi’, ‘Zwigato’, and ‘Jogira Sara Ra Ra’, have been released in cinemas without OTT partners.
Certain high-profile films that had underwhelming box office performances are yet to appear on OTT platforms despite deals. For instance, Tiger Shroff's ‘Ganapath’ and the thriller ‘The Lady Killer’ were slated to premiere on Netflix but have not done so.
According to Mint, industry experts attribute this change to reconsideration by OTT platforms, indicating that these acquisitions may not have been justifiable to their parent companies in retrospect. The report added that the price of a film is generally determined based on the box office performance of the lead actor's previous film, a practice that has now proved inaccurate.
While streaming services typically pay a percentage of the committed amount before theatrical release, contractual clauses allow them to terminate deals if necessary.
Additionally, services are now hesitant to consider small-scale films or commercial failures.
This shift is also being attributed in distribution dynamics originating when television networks such as Star, Sony, Zee, and Viacom18 engaged in bidding wars for satellite rights of films, driving prices up in the early to mid-2000s. Subsequently, OTT players adopted similar strategies to capture audience attention. However, the streaming industry has encountered a slowdown, with neither subscriptions nor advertising meeting anticipated growth levels.
