Films will be released on OTT platforms and satellite channels after eight weeks of their theatrical release instead of four weeks currently. This decision to revert to the pre-Covid formula was taken by several producers and the PVR chain of multiplexes recently. PVR has had meetings with various top producers who have a line-up of releases in the coming months, like Yash Raj Films, Viacom18 and Zee Studios. Laal Singh Chaddha and Raksha Bandhan, both slated for release on 11th August, will have their satellite/OTT release two months after their their cinema release. Shamshera and Ek Villain Returns may be the last two big films which will hit the small screen four weeks after their theatrical release on 22nd July and 29th July respectively.
It can be safely assumed that with the topmost production houses having agreed to revert to the pre-Covid days’ window, other producers will definitely fall in line and agree to the eight-week delay in releasing films on digital platforms and satellite channels.
As is common knowledge, the exclusive theatrical window, which was eight weeks before the Coronavirus pandemic, was changed to four weeks when cinemas reopened in November 2021 after the various lockdowns. The change was brought about because producers fought for the window to be reduced to four weeks to make up for the heavy losses they had suffered during the lockdowns. Streaming platforms were offering producers more lucrative prices if the window was reduced. Seeing more money coming in for digital/satellite rights in case the window was brought down from eight to four weeks, producers literally forced multiplexes to agree to the reduction in the exclusive theatrical window. The multiplexes agreed reluctantly because they had likewise borne huge losses during the closure necessitated by the pandemic lockdowns.
Thanks to the halved exclusive theatrical window, it has been observed in recent times that audience footfalls in cinemas (both, single-screen and multiplexes) have reduced as people are preferring to wait for films to be streamed on OTT platforms after a month instead of rushing to the cinemas. Since cinema tickets are quite often heavily priced, it made sense for many among the public to wait for the films to stream on platforms rather than rush to the cinemas and watch them at what they felt were prohibitively high prices. Of course, if the public reports for a film are good, people do go to the cinemas in large numbers but they opt to wait for four weeks otherwise. In any case, not everyone watches a film in the week of release. For those who usually watch a film in the cinemas in the second or third week, the wait now is of three or two weeks only. The fall in audience attendance because of the reduced exclusive theatrical window has also been responsible for shows of big-ticket entertainers being cancelled on the opening day as cinemas are witnessing absence of audience for films.
Information has been vociferous in its stand that the reduction of the exclusive theatrical window from two months to just one month was detrimental to the interests of the producers and exhibitors alike. Better sense seems to have prevailed and with effect from 1st August, films will have to wait for eight weeks after the theatrical release to be beamed on TV or streamed on an OTT platform.
Hopefully, footfalls will increase in multiplexes and single-screen cinemas. After all, not many among the audience would want to wait for two months to catch the new releases.