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Business Standard

'Exclusively in theatres': Bollywood tests new methods to release movies

Bollywood is trying out various scripts to lure audiences back to the big screen. This comes as the rising dominance of over-the-top (OTT) platforms makes it difficult for movies to run for long periods on the silver screen, thus hurting the cinema industry. The latest attempt is by Aamir Khan, who decided to release his film, Sitaare Zameen Par, exclusively in theatres. On Thursday, Multiplex Association of India (MAI) applauded Aamir Khan's decision to release the film exclusively in theatres. This comes after some media reports said that the much-awaited movie is expected to be released on YouTube through a pay-per-view model after its theatre release, and not on OTT platforms. According to a film trade analyst, it is still not confirmed if the RS Prasanna-directed sequel to Taare Zameen Par will be released on YouTube. On the other hand, Girish Wankhede, film trade analyst, said it is highly unlikely for any other movie to be released on YouTube. Selling the rights of movies to streaming platforms helps producers recover a certain amount of their invested budget on the film. Through YouTube, the chances of recovering this money are unlikely. He further noted that Sitaare Zameen Par isn't a mass-audience film like Dangal or PK. These had the possibility of working well on a popular platform like YouTube. While select movies like Chhaava and Raid 2 performed well at the box office (BO), some high-profile ones like Salman Khan's Sikandar, Akshay Kumar's Sky Force, and the latest being Sajid Nadiadwala-produced Housefull 5 have failed to attract the desired footfalls and BO numbers. 'Housefull 5 was not successful because the cost of production was too high (around ₹250 crore). It will, at the most, make around ₹170 crore…Still, the film is in loss,' said Wankhede. After the opening weekend, the movie has seen a spike in its BO collection due to the ticket price offers on Tuesdays. In May, the producers (Maddock Films) of Rajkummar Rao-starrer Bhool Chuk Maaf had suddenly decided to release the movie directly on Amazon Prime Video, which was later released in theatres due to a court order. This order came after PVR INOX took Maddock Films to court for changing its decision to release the movie in theatres. The cumulative BO collection for January-May was up by 27 per cent to ₹4,812 crore compared to the same period last year, according to an Ormax Media report. These attempts by the industry come at a time when film producers are still in a 'wait-and-watch' mode and are thinking twice before starting to work on movies. This comes as several films have not made money at the BO. Some have not even recovered their costs.