This may still be news to many of you all, but the highly anticipated Mohanlal war epic, ‘Marakkar: Lion of The Arabian Sea‘ will premiere in theatres in the first week of December. The film’s initial plan for a direct-to-OTT release through Amazon Prime Video got cancelled almost a week back and finally, the film will be releasing in cinema halls like everyone involved with the film wanted it to. But how was Antony Perumbavoor, ‘Marakkar’s’ producer, convinced to opt for a theatrical release?
Well firstly, Antony Perubavoor always wanted to release the film in theatres from the start. Even after theatres opened in Kerala, back in January, he told various media outlets that he will only release his film when both he and the theatres associations were comfortable with releasing this film. He also held out against the “OTT onslaught” for a year – who were trying to get the film’s streaming rights from him.
But the producer felt that the Kerala theatre associations were not helping him in return and they were spreading rumours that he wanted Rs. 40 crores assurance from them, when in actuality, he wanted a little more than a tenth of that amount. He also wanted a better percentage rate from the box office earnings, since he too had suffered from the pandemic. The blank refusal of his proposition irritated him and made him opt for a direct-to-OTT release through Amazon Prime Video.
However, on 11th November 2021, with the help of Saji Cherian, the Minister of Culture, both Antony Perumbavoor and the various theatre associations managed to reach a compromise and come to an understanding. The Minister also decided to waive various taxes levied on theatres, which will allow them to give better percentage compensation to Perumbavoor.
‘Marakkar: Lion of The Arabian Sea’ will premiere in theatres on December 2nd 2021.