OTT window - Theatrical Revenue spark debate

The advent of Otts brought entertainment close to the fingertips of the people as they neednot rush to the theatres and enjoy entertainment at their own comforts from their houses.

Many felt that Ott window for the films are impacting their theatrical revenue. Few Tollywood insiders shared their views on it. Director Gunasekhar shared “Shorter Ott windows have made audiences comfortable to wait. A uniform three-month gap can help bring them back to theatres.”

But producer Raj Kandukuri says “Movie-making has become a risky business these days. A producer's recovery options are being reduced by the day,” He adds “Hence Ott money is the primary recovery for producers since he is assured of some returns, while theatrical collections have become secondary, which is unfortunate but true.”

He continued “Audiences are watching a film in the first four weeks if they want to, and hence the Ott screening has nothing to do with the success of a film. 'Barring movies of Rajamouli or films like Dhurandhar, which demand a longer theatrical run, which are far and few."

A source shares “A top office-bearer in the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce, who has sold Ott rights for his films till 2028, walked out of the meeting on extending the deadline.” The source continued “Producers are discussing it, but it looks like there will be no change in the Ott window since they are unwilling to give up assured money.”