Click https://bit.ly/komal248 if the above video does not autoplay.
The US film industry reacted with shock to the announcement by Warner Bros. yesterday (December 3) that its entire slate of films for 2021 will release simultaneously on the big screen and HBO Max streaming platform. The studio had earlier made this announcement for its Christmas 2020 release, Wonder Woman 1984, but now it is for its entire slate of films for 2021. Cinema chains like AMC Theatres have been opposing the move by other studios to do away with an exclusive window for theatres before films are allowed to stream on OTT platforms. The reason is obvious: they fear a drop in footfalls at the cinemas if people are given the option of watching new films on the same day on a streaming service. According to Warner Bros., its new films will stream on HBO Max for a month from the day of their premiere in cinemas and on HBO Max, after which they will be discontinued from HBO Max but will continue their run at the cinemas. The TV and revived digital screenings will follow after a gap, as at present.
Cinema chains like AMC Theatres have been opposing the move by other studios to
do away with an exclusive window for theatres before films are allowed to stream
on OTT platforms.
Warner has clarified that this move should not be interpreted as the studio ditching the big screen as it has been taken due to the coronavirus pandemic which is expected to see cinemas operating at reduced capacities, perhaps, for the whole of next year. Warner Bros. CEO Ann Sarnoff said, “No one wants films back on the big screen more than we do. We know, new content is the lifeblood of theatrical exhibition, but we have to balance this with the reality that most theatres in the US will likely operate at reduced capacity throughout 2021.”
Warner Bros. CEO Ann Sarnoff said, “No one wants films back on the big screen more than
we do… But we have to balance this with the reality…”
If this can happen in the US, what prevents it from happening in India? As it is, producers have been in talks with multiplexes to reduce the exclusivity theatrical window which at present is of eight weeks. With cinemas in the country allowed to operate at 50% capacity only, and with uncertainty about when complete normalcy would return, it is the producers’ case that the exclusivity window should be reduced, if not completely done away with, at least till the time cinemas are allowed 100% audiences. Multiplexes, on their part, fear that if the window is reduced, it may become the norm even after normal times return.
What I’m going to say now, may appear quite ridiculous today but it isn’t so. Instead of ruing over this possibility in India, multiplex chains should gear up for it and, in fact, celebrate it. Yes, footfalls in multiplexes and single-screen cinemas might reduce initially but in the long run, this move of simultaneously releasing films in theatres and streaming them on OTT platforms just might give birth to a whole new audience base. As it is, barely 5% of India’s population goes to the cinemas. This means that 95% of the public either does not watch Hindi films or watches films on TV or on OTT platforms but does not visit cinemas. Even if we were to assume that the section of the audience which watches films on TV or OTT platforms but refuses to go to the cinemas remains that way, what about the people who don’t watch Hindi films at all? This move of simultaneous release on two platforms could entice such people to start watching Hindi films. Since new Hindi films will be available to them in the comforts of their homes, they might get hooked on to them albeit on the streaming platforms. Slowly but surely, a whole new audience base could develop — this section has never watched Hindi films regularly till now but may develop a fondness for such films because of their easy availability at home. Many among them, when they realise that Hindi films offer good entertainment, might feel inclined to watch them in the cinemas. If this happens — and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t — imagine how the cinema audience base would actually grow instead of reducing. Of course, this would be a slow process but over the next two to three years, Bollywood could experience a spurt in its cinema-frequenting population. That’s the reason why cinemas should celebrate rather than fearing and, therefore, opposing the move to release films on dual platforms simultaneously.
Yes, footfalls in multiplexes
and single-screen cinemas might reduce initially but in
the long run, this move of simultaneously releasing films in theatres and streaming them on OTT platforms just might give birth to a whole new audience base.
And frankly, this kind of change was seen in the 1980s and 1990s too when initially, India Video rights were held back by the industry but rampant piracy forced the industry to permit simultaneous release of films on the video circuit too. Fears harboured by the trade in the 1980s and 1990s that cinema business would be “finished”, proved to be unfounded because not only did cinema business flourish after that but producers’ revenues also went up. Recalls producer Boney Kapoor, “For my Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja in 1993, I had sold the simultaneous India Video rights to Time but I took a cut of Rs. 25 lakh in my price for withholding the release of the video cassettes and also for Time to check piracy for two weeks.”
Fears harboured by the trade
in the 1980s and 1990s that cinema business would be “finished”, proved to be unfounded because not only
did cinema business flourish after that but producers’ revenues also went up.
Besides, if multiplexes have the right to discontinue producers’ films unilaterally, shouldn’t the producers, who are the creators of the content, be allowed to decide if their OTT rights should be effective alongside theatrical rights? “The fact that multiplexes indiscriminately reduce the number of shows given to a film, sometimes even mid-week, has been a cause for producers’ heartburn since ages,” says a producer wishing to remain anonymous. He adds, “If producers have borne this excess of multiplexes, why should multiplexes resent the inherent right of the producers to sell OTT platform rights for simultaneous streaming with theatrical release? Just why?”
“If producers have borne this excess of multiplexes, why should multiplexes resent the inherent right of the producers to sell OTT platform rights for simultaneous streaming with theatrical release? Just why?”
Viewing the decision holistically too, the move would augment the revenues of the film industry. Even if the box-office revenues of films were to drop for the first one or two years, producers would get fatter prices for streaming rights of their films because of simultaneous release on the OTT platforms, and they (producers) could actually end up earning more revenues. Also, as mentioned above, since a whole new audience base would be formed, many people who’ve never visited the cinemas till now, might also start watching films on the big screen ultimately. Therefore, this seemingly lopsided move of simultaneous release of films on two platforms just could prove to be a win-win situation for all sectors of the film industry INCLUDING exhibition!
This seemingly lopsided move of simultaneous release of films on two platforms just could prove to be a win-win situation for all sectors of the film industry INCLUDING exhibition!