There were reports that Sooryavanshi will hit the silverscreens on April 2, so the makers have requested a 70% revenue share from multiplexes. Due to the pre-Covid era arrangement, producers of the movie used to get a 50% share and requested a shortening of the OTT window from 8 weeks to 4 weeks. But Apparently the exhibition industry has not yet agreed to these conditions. And according to the exhibition industry, the revenue sharing model is not financially achievable for theaters. Many theater owners are scared that if films hit digital in just 4 weeks, there could be fall in number of people visiting theatres. But with the Tamil blockbuster Master (2021) arriving on Amazon Prime in 16 days, is an perfect example.
Then comes the issue of Virtual Printing Fee (VPF). It is an amount, which is Rs. 20,000 per screen, charged by multiplexes, and by a third party in the case of single screens, to producers to elevate their projection system for a better cinematic experience. Producers now a days believe that VPF billing is no longer necessary as theaters have recover the cost. Apparently the fact that it is only charged for Indian movies and not for Hollywood films. And this factor of concern has been a bone of contention between. them for a long time. The manufacturer s therefore want an dispensation from VPF.
Views and opinions of exhibitors were taken with regards to these issues. Raj Bansal, the owner of Entertainment Paradise in Jaipur, said, “(OTT window) 8 weeks ka hi rehna chahiye. Anything less than that is being unfair with the exhibitors and distributors. For a small film, a four-week window between theatrical and digital is okay. But big-budget films do run for 6 to 8 weeks and to release them within 4 weeks is absolutely unjustified. If I come to know that I can watch a particular film online after a couple of weeks, I’ll try to avoid going to the theatres. It’ll majorly hamper our business.”
Vishek Chauhan, posessor of Roopbani Cinema in Bihar, stated “Reduction of OTT window from 8 to 4 weeks doesn’t make a difference. Even Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) had released on SVOD (subscription video-on-demand), and not on PVOD (premium video-on-demand). It was released later in cinemas as it began to stream from midnight. It was cold and Covid-19 was at its peak. Still, it managed to collect $16.7 million at the North America box office on the weekend. When Master hit Amazon Prime, the collections in the cinemas in that week were very strong. The drop was normal, not an alarming one. Cinemas don’t compete with OTT platforms. Secondly, we have been competing with piracy for the longest period of time. I’ll share one incident with you. I was running Sultan (2016) in my theatre. In the restaurant next door, which was also run by me, I saw three guys watching the same film, Sultan, on their mobile phones. I felt bad. But I understood that that audience is different. The theatrical audience doesn’t really care if a particular film would arrive on OTT. In our country with a 135 crore population, even if 2% of people watch a film in cinemas, it becomes a blockbuster. Hence, I don’t feel the reduction of OTT and theatrical would make much of a difference, because those who want to watch a film in cinemas would anyway do so, come what may.”
He has an interesting solution for this problem, “Variable windowing should come into play. The one-size-fits-all model is not practical. For example, a film like Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi (2021) was a non-starter from the first day. Why should the producers hold back the film from digital for 4 weeks or 8 weeks? Let it release on a streaming platform in 2 weeks’ time. I believe that the collections in theatres should decide when a film should release digitally. If a film is running strong in cinemas, then its digital premiere should be postponed. There should be a threshold mark – say that if a film starts collecting less than Rs. 15 crore or Rs. 10 crore in a week, then it’s fit to go on OTT.”
He further continued, “This would enable the producers to earn more. And if they earn more, they will in turn, make more films. So let’s not become enemies of each other. Let’s be smart and help the movie business grow. The perception that audiences will stop going to cinemas is a myth. Master has shown that theatre business is alive and kicking and that cinemas will always be around.”
Akshaye Rathi, film exhibitor and distributor stated, “There should be a degree of flexibility. Ideally, it should be a minimum 4 weeks to start with. It’s not completely normal yet and it’s important that producers and exhibitors watch each other’s backs rather than just look at their individual interests. We’d love it if the producers give us a chance to optimally perform with the business of Sooryavanshi and god forbid if it underperforms, then I think it’s only right that the producers to expect exhibitors to allow them to release on OTT earlier than the normal old-school window of 8 weeks. So that sort of flexibility and give-and-take is important, at least for a couple of months or for the first few big-ticket Hindi film releases that come out.”
