Theatrical Window Stalemate between South Producers And Exhibitors Continues

The rift between film producers and exhibitors over the theatrical window duration has surfaced yet again in South India, mere weeks after exhibitors from the Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam film industries met to propose a switch from the current four-week window to an eight-week one. The exhibitors also decided to not release films that did not adhere to its decision, adding that leniency would be offered only to projects that had sold their digital rights before April 10 this year.

Following this, the South Indian Film Producers Association (SIFPA) was formed by the producers’ associations and guilds of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala on April 19, following a meeting in Hyderabad. It was decided that they would oppose unilateral implementation of demands by any exhibitor/distributor association until May 10. Following this, SIFPA has sought a joint meeting with all stakeholders.

SR Prabhu, vice president of Tamil Film Active Producers Association (TFAPA), points out that exhibitors alone can't decide the business prospects of cinema. He adds that producers go through various hurdles and that exhibitors will not have adequate content to screen if the former stops production of movies due to unviable business deals. He explains, "The profit we are likely to gain will witness almost 50 per cent loss if the eight-week window is made mandatory. Moreover, there is no guarantee that the films will be screened in theatres for eight weeks. The business model proposed by exhibitors didn't yield any results in Bollywood. The dip in footfalls can't be attributed to producers' greed."

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However, MC Gopi, general secretary of Film Exhibitors’ United Organisation of Kerala (FEUOK), notes that the eight-week window decision does not adversely affect the Malayalam industry. In fact, he feels this is helpful as most of the films will have enough time in theatres. He says, "Once a film drops on OTT, nobody would come to theatres to watch it. For instance, "Vaazha II" is still having housefull shows in its fourth week. Additionally, pre-release OTT deals are not common in Malayalam. We already had a 42-day OTT release window in place."

As far as Tollywood is concerned, things stand divided as the stars and other bigwigs prefer a three or four-week OTT window while the exhibitors can't compromise on the eight-week deal. In fact, nobody from the Telugu Film Producers Council and the Active Telugu Film Producers Guild was willing to speak when we reached out to them.

The Kannada film industry has steered clear of the standoff. The strife between the two entities is unlikely to affect Kannada films much. A source associated with the industry attributes it to the fact that the conflict does not pose a threat to their cinema. He says, "Barring a few A-list films, Kannada movies do not sign OTT deals until the theatrical release happens. A majority of the films released every year have not made it to any platform."

The theatre vs OTT debate is nothing new to South Indian cinema. A few films ("Ponmagal Vandhal", "Soorarai Pottru", "Tuck Jagadish", etc) faced the brunt of exhibitors in the last few years when the makers decided to opt for a direct-to-OTT release. There were also instances where exhibitors were content with a highly anticipated film like "Master" dropping on Prime Video in less than 20 days of its theatrical release, as the movie provided the much-needed revenue for them in the initial couple of weeks.

With inputs by Prathibha Joy, Avad Mohammad and Gayathri Krishna.