Not feasible for everyone to release movies on OTT platform, says PVR

As the nationwide lockdown continues in India and restrictions continue on theatres and malls, filmmakers and producers are looking to release movies on OTT platforms. Ajay Bijli, Chairman and Managing Director of PVR discusses the impact of COVID-19 on the industry.

Talking about films that are made for the release on OTT platforms and those that are for theatrical release, he said that there are movies that are first released on the big screen and then on other platforms be it OTT or broadcast. “However, the situation is very unusual. Cinemas are closed. I do believe that the situation will be completely different once cinemas open up as it does not make any economic sense to let go of 60 percent revenues that is generated from a theatrical release. If you look at the overall pie, roughly about Rs 15,000-16,000 crore is the total film revenue out of which Rs 11,000 crore comes from box office collections,” he said.

“There are big movies that are lined up for release such as ‘Sooryavanshi’, ‘83’, ‘Radhe’, ‘Coolie No 1’ and multiple Hollywood blockbusters, I am in touch with everybody and are awaiting for cinemas to open up,” Bijli said, but comparing an OTT release to a theatrical release is not appropriate.