OTTs hit pause button on box office flops
Streaming platforms are becoming more cautious when it comes to acquiring movies that failed at the box office and are refraining from controversial content
New Delhi: Streaming platforms once considered havens for niche, non-mainstream narratives are no longer willing to splurge on movies that failed to resonate with theatergoing audiences.
For instance, Kapil Sharma’s Zwigato could not strike an OTT deal following its lackluster box office performance. Services are also exercising caution, refraining from courting controversy with political drama, The Kerala Story, despite its successful theatrical run.
“There is a realization among OTT players that there is no real value in paying crazy prices for films that do not bring great results and whose viewership drops almost immediately. Especially, if the film hasn’t found takers at the box office, there is no point in loosening the purse strings and striking deals unless everyone can agree on a really reasonable price," said Yusuf Shaikh, business head, feature films at production and distribution firm Percept Pictures.
Furthermore, services no longer want to strike package deals with producers for multiple films, and prefer to pick and choose individual titles now, Shaikh added.
The other big takeaway is that audiences are loyal to the content, and not platforms, and will not think twice before moving to a different service provider despite having enjoyed programmes on a specific platform.
A senior executive of a streaming platform said even after controlling budgets and staying away from direct-to-digital acquisitions, as was common during the first wave of the pandemic, OTT players have learnt another lesson. “Platforms have burnt their fingers yet again with films such as Bheed or Gumraah, which were purchased as part of package deals, but didn’t deliver results. Everyone is being choosy, and realises that they don’t need more content than they require. And two, box office success is some indication of whether the audience is interested in the film."
The person said at least 30-40 Hindi films ready for release haven’t been able to sign OTT deals due to uncertainties surrounding their box office success. As far as controversial subjects, such as The Kerala Story go, platforms would rather not ruffle any feathers, he added.
That said, big-ticket films riding on front-line Bollywood stars are wielding significant influence as potential game-changers. While producers recognize the allure of star power, they are no longer interested in investing heavily on publicity and advertising to promote these titles in cinemas. Instead, they are happy to support OTT players, who are willing to help recover the entire production cost, by leveraging a star‘s appeal.
While Bawaal started streaming on Prime Video last weekend, Shahid Kapoor-starrer Bloody Daddy on JioCinema is the most watched Hindi film on OTT (with a viewership of 16.6 million) for the January to June period, according to a report by media consulting firm Ormax.
“These star films are seen as golden deals for OTT libraries, and a lot of them not only recover their cost of production but also make a substantial profit on direct-to-digital deals," independent trade analyst Sreedhar Pillai said.
