Despite its relentless efforts, Netflix could never really crack open the Tamil OTT market. The OTT giant pinned hopes on Dhanush’s Jagame Thandhiram which premiered on the platform earlier this year, but the film turned out to be a dud. The film didn’t boost Netflix prospects one bit. Now, Netflix is hoping to make it big with Rajinikanth‘s Annaatthe, which is set to hit the silver screens on the 4th of November.
But the big question is, can Annaatthe do the job for Netflix in the Tamil OTT market? If the trailer is anything to go by, the Rajinikanth starrer appears to be a commercial action drama, a genre that is not particularly popular among the OTT audience. Not often do we see commercial potboilers faring well on OTT, given the fact that the majority of the audiences are inclined towards concept-oriented content. But this time around, Netflix will be desperately hoping to hit the bullseye with Annaattha as it is high time that the OTT player delivers a winning A-lister blockbuster, much like the way Amazon Prime did with Vijay’s Master earlier this year.
Reportedly, Netflix has orchestrated an early OTT release clause for Annaatthe, meaning the film will be premiering on the platform just three weeks post its theatrical release. In all likelihood, Annaatthe will be premiering on Netflix in the last week of November. An official announcement on the same is awaited though.
Needless to say, Annaatthe is one of Netflix’s flagship outings, given the scale of the film and the ensemble star cast, which includes Rajinikanth, Keerthy Suresh, Nayanthara, and others. The OTT giant hopes to tap into the regional OTT market with the Rajinikanth starrer. Will it actually be able to do so? We will know the answer very soon.