Bollywood recognized a very important problem in the poor theatrical business last year. When films were getting flop after flop, the industry pointed fingers at the early release of films on OTT platforms.
Thus, they made 8 weeks the minimum window for the release of films and it is being followed. Did it help Bollywood?
Absolutely no. Because they are churning mostly trashy films.
But the Malayalam film industry on the other hand is not like that. They are very particular about the quality and normally their films are much better than the average of a lot of other film industries. Sadly, no other film industries apart from Bollywood thought about the consequences of early OTT releases until now.
In Tollywood, we have seen films getting released on OTT only after two weeks of theatrical release. But that is true only for big flops.
The Film Exhibitors United Organisation of Kerala (FEUOK) recently complained to the Kerala government, urging for the elimination of entertainment tax and advocating for a policy that prevents films from having online premieres after at least 90 days of theatrical release. FEUOK, representing theater owners, has been persistently requesting a meeting with the government for the past six months. Initially, they proposed a 42-day gap between theatrical and OTT releases.
The meeting however called by the government to discuss early OTT releases has been postponed due to the ongoing election of the producers’ association. FEUOK expressed disappointment, stating that the government should have a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by theater owners compared to FEUOK.
FEUOK also requested permission for theatres to impose a minimum service charge of Rs 5 on each ticket, as the current charge of Rs 3 is insufficient given the low occupancy rates.
Stay tuned to Binged for more updates.
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