Indepth: Why experts believe the OTT-theatre hybrid model will not work in the long run?

During the long months of the peak pandemic period and strict Covid restrictions, OTT platforms had become the go-to medium for releasing new films. Though producers of several big-ticket films preferred to delay releasing their films till theatres were fully operational, there were a plethora of films that went ahead with premiering on OTT platforms, the first of these being Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana starrer ‘Gulabo Sitabo.’

Even after cinema halls were allowed to reopen, quite some people were hesitant to watch a movie in a movie theatre due to the fear of Covid infection. It was during this time that filmmakers decided to go for a hybrid release of their films, that is, simultaneously releasing their films on OTT and movie theatres.

An A-list Bollywood star like Salman Khan, too, decided to go for this hybrid model for two of his films – ‘Radhe - Your Most Wanted Bhai’ and ‘Antim’.

However, Akshay Kumar’s ‘Sooryavanshi’ and Ranveer Singh’s ‘83’, as well as Tamil film ‘Master’ drew in movie lovers to the theatres. Recently released ‘The Kashmir Files’ continues to see houseful shows due to its heart-wrenching tales about the plight of Kashmiri Pandits.

Meanwhile, some films continue to either see an OTT release, such as the Vidya Balan-starrer ‘Jalsa’, or go for a hybrid release model. Experts have said that this hybrid model will continue and OTT and theatres will co-exist in the new normal.

However, a recent development has raised a question mark on whether this co-existence will be a peaceful one. The decision by Dulquer Salmaan, a hugely popular Malayalam movie star, to release his latest film, ‘Salute’, on OTT platform SonyLIV has run into controversy. The Film Exhibitors United Organisation of Kerala (FEUOK) has reportedly decided to ban Dulquer Salmaan’s films from cinemas as the actor-producer reneged on his promise to release ‘Salute’ in cinemas and instead opted for SonyLIV.

However, when contacted by Adgully, FEUOK executive member MC Bobby clarified that there has not been any such ‘ban’ yet. He termed the media reports to this effect as hyped and unfounded.

“We had an executive committee meeting after Dulquer’s announcement to release the movie on OTT. The ‘ban option’ was just one of the opinions raised by some members at the meeting. A final decision in this regard will be taken only at the general body meeting to be held on March 31,” he told Adgully.

According to him, the movie was slated for a theatre release and all preparations, including the printing of posters, were taken. The theatres, obviously, were taken aback by the last-minute change in the decision.

According to Naveen Chandra, an accomplished regional language film producer who works across 10 Indian languages other than Hindi, it is unfair to ban Dulquer. Adding further, he said: “If he is the producer, he has taken a decision keeping in  his fans and audience and his theatrical returns. Because there is a two-year supply of a lot of films coming in, it is also possible that you don’t get screens for a proper release. So, there are various factors. As a producer, he is getting different tag and as an actor, he is getting different tag. I think he has made a balanced decision. I don’t think a ban will help. At the end of the day, there is enough and more content out there that wants to be released in theatres. So there will be more releases possible.”

Ban or no ban, the controversy throws up some pertinent questions regarding the hybrid release of movies or releasing films on OTT, an unwitting product of the pandemic. The pandemic indeed has changed the business of movies forever. Going forward, will the co-existence of theatres and OTTs be the norm or a temporary strategy? While theatres have a genuine reason to fume, a producer’s right to release his movie on a platform he deems fit cannot be discounted, too. Because, at the end of the day, he has to recoup his money.

Sluggish theatre footfalls

Theatres should exist, because without theatres, there won’t be stars and stardom, says entrepreneur-producer AV Anoop. OTT platforms, he maintains, don’t create stars. According to him, people will continue flocking to theatres because it is an experience. Anoop, however, is disappointed at the fact that people are still reluctant to go to theatres even after the ebbing of the pandemic.

Anoop’s latest production venture is ‘Pada’, a widely acclaimed movie based on real-life events that happened 25 years ago. He is disappointed that despite receiving rousing reception by the critics and the common men alike, it is not getting translated into theatre footfalls.

“Post-COVID, producers like me are confused. We really don’t know what to do. People are refusing to come to theatres. ‘Salute’ was released in OTT due to the already-sluggish response and reduced footfalls in theatres. After watching the movie, the producer/ director decides where to release it. Producers are ready to release movies in theatres if people come back to cinemas,” he says.

He deplores the fact that theatres are refusing to take small-budget movies with newbies or little-known stars.

People are used to not going to theatres just like they don’t eat outside due to the pandemic, says film distributor Mukesh Mehta. He observes that it is the youngsters who are flocking to the theatres after the pandemic. Middle-aged people are staying away due to whatever reasons. “Overall the theatre scene is sluggish. Even in Hindi, the movie ‘83’ didn’t collect as expected,” he points out.

Theatre all the way

At the core of the debate is whether to release a movie in theatre or OTT. In a way, it is a kind of a tug of war that is being played out now. On the one side are streaming platforms with a penchant for increasing their subscriber base with a vibrant content library. On the other are the pandemic-ravaged theatres aiming to get back on their feet.

According to Naveen Chandra, it is always better if the film is available in the theatre first.

“There are four key players in any movie. The first one is the producer whose key interest is to get a return on his investment. The second is the distribution and the exhibition system. They would like to have a constant theme of content to keep the operational costs. The producer and the distributor are looking at the return on the investment. The third key player is the audience, who always want good content, whether they watch it in the theatre or OTT. If you serve it in the theatre, a large number of people are satisfied and happy. If you serve it on OTT, then only the subscribers of the OTT platform get to consume that content; and a large number of people are denied that content. From an audience’ point of view, it is always better if it is available in the theatre first and then it goes to OTT and other platforms,” explains Chandra. 

Echoing similar sentiments, Karan Taurani, Senior VP - Research Analyst, at Elara Capital, says that the hybrid release is not the future.

“I think films have to go to cinemas first and then go to OTT. With things coming back to normal, many producers will go to cinemas first only. Then after the four-to-eight-week theatrical window, they will come to OTT,” says Taurani. 

According to him, the ‘Salute’ controversy could be a one-off thing for a particular film from a specific genre. He does not see a future for the hybrid model.

“On a larger horizon, I don’t think this concept of hybrid release is acceptable. In fact, globally also this concept has not done well as it has worked against the producers in terms of monetisation of content.”

Theatrical window

So, what is the ideal theatrical window for a movie?

Exhibitors are against the one-month gap, says Taurani. The Hindi film industry, he says, reduced the window during the pandemic. “The window came down from a six-to-eight-week period to four weeks. Now the industry is articulating to bring this window back to pre-COVID levels as the footfalls are back in cinemas. Firstly, the window was shortened so that producers could make more money in terms of their monetization because footfalls were low in cinemas. Now footfalls have returned to pre-COVID levels, it is very logical that the window will be increased to six to eight weeks. I don’t see the window increasing beyond six to eight weeks or reducing to four weeks or less. All the terms will be rolled back to pre-COVID levels as and when we see the footfall recovery coming back to pre-COVID levels which we have started seeing already in the cinemas today,” says Taurani.

According to Naveen Chandra, four weeks will be a good theatrical window. If the film is doing very well at the box office then it should be stretched to get six or eight weeks, he feels.

So, will theatres and OTT co-exist? They always will, says Chandra. At the end of the day, there is the comfort of watching a movie in the comfort of a home. There is no doubt about it, he says.

“There is also a comfort in taking your friends or family out for a theatre movie experience. It is an outing and social event. Out of 130 crore population in India, barely 14 crore go and see a movie. About 100 crores tickets are sold every year. So 100 crore people haven’t seen a movie in their life. They will surely go and see a movie at one point in theatres. And the movie on OTT will continue. They can co-exist. In sports, sometimes the TV experience is better than the stadium experience. In TV, there is commentary, you can replay, data and statistics which you don’t get in a stadium, etc. But TV can’t beat the experience in a stadium. The experience of watching with 30,000 or so people, the winning and losing and emotional drama cannot be beaten by a TV experience. But at the same time, the TV experience cannot be replicated in the stadium. So, both will complement each other. Both have their own value,” says Chandra.

According to Chandra, fans of stars also get disappointed if the movie does not come to the theatre. “So they would also prefer it to come to the theatre first. And now these OTT platforms themselves are seeking to grow their subscriber base and they also want content. So they also try to attract content. OTT platforms have two criteria to select content: the first is if a movie is very good at the box office then they take it because they hope that it will translate into new subscribers. Secondly, the content can travel beyond the language. For example, Dulquer’s film ‘Kurup’ did well in Hindi and other languages.”

No uniform model possible 

There cannot be a uniform model worth following across the industry, says industry insiders. First and foremost is the fact that there are too many variables in OTT or theatre releasing. The stakeholders have to consider a lot of factors before releasing a movie.     

“I don’t think there can be a uniform solution. It all depends on film to film. It all depends on demand and supply and all the four factors: producers, distributors, audience, OTT platforms, etc.,” says Naveen Chandra. 

There are too many factors; there is art, and there is commerce. There cannot be a uniform policy of releasing a movie.

For an artist, says Chandra, it is always better to do a theatrical release. Because that is how his fan following grows; they want to build the fan base.

This is not to discount or diminish the importance or relevance of OTT platforms, which come in handy for a star to reach a wider audience, transcending borders and languages.

“If the star wants to dub in several other languages there is a cost to that, including distribution cost. Nowadays, normal dubbing will not work; you have to do voice casting. So the cost will go up. Here, an OTT platform can give an artist 17 or 20 language options across the world because you think the product can travel beyond the borders of the state. Then you would want to experiment with an OTT release because you can get a wide release globally. Now all of us are watching Spanish, Korean, and Turkish content. That would not have been possible if a theatrical release was planned for a Spanish film in India; it is impossible to get the audience. So there cannot be one yardstick for all kinds of films. And there is nothing called big films or small films or OTT films or theatrical films. There are only two things: there are good films and bad films,” concludes Chandra.

Low-cost theatres. Any takers?

Instead of cribbing about lower footfalls, we should figure out how we could bring people back to theatres, says Mukesh Mehta. How to increase footfalls into theatres is the bigger question. 

According to him, the theatre ticket cost is too high. A five-member family needs to cough up almost Rs 2,000 which is equivalent to the annual subscript of OTT. Ticket prices must come down, says Mehta. A normal labourer, for example, cannot afford Rs 300 for a movie in a multiplex.

Mehta has a proposal for the authorities, which he feels, will bring back the glory days of theaters. 

“India’s biggest advantage is its population. Entertainment is the only avenue for the masses in India. We should have Rs-100-theatres. In these no-frill theatres, you don’t need the luxury of Dolby Atmos or such other paraphernalia we have grown accustomed to in our urban multiplexes. Such arrangements for the common man will bring people back to theatres. Sometime back, I wrote to Mukesh Ambani to come up with such a theatre model. Give people choice and they will come. Government should support with subsidised electricity, etc. just as farmers are given subsidies. If the ticket rate is affordable people will come to theatres,” says Mehta.