There’s been a hot debate on Theatres vs OTTs ever since the release of latest films directly on the video streaming platforms. The theatre groups have not been very happy about it and have often expressed their resentment about the same. But are the two really comparable? What will happen in the post-lockdown scenario?
If one comes to think of it, earlier a lot of fans went to theatres just to see their favourite big stars on the 70mm screen and most of the time the story didn’t matter to many. But that same audience when gets to choose what to watch on an OTT platform might become picky and select only that with a good storyline. Also, something on OTT is successful only when backed by a solid story.
This makes it quite clear that the formula for a hit varies from platform to platform and its not a one size fits all thing. There have been instances where a lot of films that received critical acclaims for their performances and script, were a dud at box office. So it wouldn’t be wrong to say that while content is definitely the king for an OTT, it might or might not be so for theatres at times depending on the star cast.
Now this might sound very speculative but the fact that the difference between cinema halls and OTT is not blurr in the minds of the audience cannot be denied. After such a prolonged period of time when the theatres reopen, almost all of us would still crave for that wholesome movie experience, in spite of being a bit hesitant to go out in public. Even the OTT giants are aware of it.
It’s true that the way of viewing cinema in India is a changing landscape and who knows what the future holds in for it. But it would be very interesting to know if the audience resumes to the pre-lockdown pattern of watching cinema or will the OTTs prove to be the new game changers?
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