Telugu film makers are greedy. It was proved many times.
Due to COVID-19, OTT players spent a lot of money buying Telugu film rights. As a result, many producers made significant profits on OTT rights. OTT rights quickly surpassed satellite rights and emerged as the primary source of non-theatrical revenue for producers.
Until a year ago, producers profited handsomely from OTT rights. However, streaming businesses have cut back on their expenses. Except for high-profile blockbuster pictures, it has proven difficult for small and mid-budget films to secure a lucrative agreement.
Furthermore, audiences are coming to the theaters unless a film has an unanimous positive buzz and glowing reviews. Even big-budget films are able to secure huge audience for the first four days. Following that, no film receives even 30% of the occupancy in theatres.
Seeing this trend, the Telugu producers are now considering locking movies for OTT streaming for eight weeks. If all goes smoothly, producers will be unable to allow streaming services to premiere them within two months of the theatrical release. However, the question is how many producers agree to this new proposal.
Most movies now have a three- or four-week release window. If a film bombs theaters, OTT operators will stream it even before the four-week lock period.
Revenues for mid-range heroes went down
Despite films like “Pushpa 2” securing record-breaking deals worth more than Rs 200 crores, the scene is not glittering. OTT firms have blacklisted some mid-range stars. The companies believe that the films starring these heroes are not making enough impressions. Recently, the OTT rights to a popular star’s film sold for a mere 14 crore.
