Here is a lowdown on which film sold for how much on OTT
Mona
“Too little. It’ll do more in the theatres,” Vijay Deverakonda, the Telugu superstar, quashed the rumours doing the rounds about his Hindi debut film, Liger, going for a digital release at a whopping sum of Rs 200 crores for rights in all languages. Liger, directed by Puri Jagannadh is backed by Dharma Productions. Shot in Telugu and Hindi, the film is looking at a release in Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam dubbed versions as well.
With cinemas still missing the viewers and no certainty on as when one can enjoy the theatrical experience, OTT has become the platform to host some of the big-ticket films like Radhe, Laxmmi Bomb, and lately Sherni. While the figures for upcoming Toofan and Haseen Dilruba are not out, here are some films that fetched a grand price on OTT.
The 100-crore club
Radhe, Salman Khan’s Eidi to his fans, apparently made Rs 230-crore from Zee Studios. Released on ZeePlex and Zee5, the movie did not win much praise from critics and Salman fans missed the theatre experience. Another film touted to have fetched more than Rs 100-crore is Laxmmi Bomb. Remake of the Tamil superhit, Muni 2: Kanchana this Akshay Kumar-starrer is said to have been sold to Disney+ Hotstar for a staggering Rs 125-crore. Another one to make it to this prestigious club is Ajay Devgn’s film Bhuj: The Pride of India. The film, due to drop on Disney+ Hotstar around Independence Day, apparently cost the platform an astounding Rs 110-crore!
Star appeal
Many films like Shakuntala Devi, Sadak 2, Gulabo Sitabo, Gunjan Saxena and Ludo are said to have made anywhere between Rs 40 to 70 crore on OTT platforms Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar and Netflix. Stars like Vidya Balan, Ayushmann Khurrana and Amitabh Bachchan may have played a role in bagging these impressive deals.
Moolah matters
Even the films sans an astounding budget were able to bag decent bargains. Alankrita Shrivastava’s satire Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare, produced by Balaji Telefilms, was apparently acquired by Netflix for Rs 40-crore.
Sushant Singh Rajput’s swansong Dil Bechara was sold to Disney+ Hotstar at about the same price. Capturing the life and times of Harshad Mehta, Kookie Gulati’s The Big Bull made it to the same bracket too. Disney+ Hotstar is said to have acquired Kunal Kemmu’s Lootcase and Vidyut Jammwal-starrer Khuda Haafiz for about Rs 10-crore.
Changing dynamics
“While some films did get good money, like Radhe or Gulabo Sitabo, recovering their cost and making some profit, they flopped,” says film critic Ajit Rai. “Though films on OTT is still a developing model, some platforms like MX Player are currently working on a revenue-sharing basis, but one wonders if they can ever replicate something like a Baahubali’s success in cinemas,” adds Rai.
Kookie Gulati’s directorial The Big Bull was released in April 2021. An unofficial estimate reveals that the film was viewed by 40 million people, a figure that makes Gulati happy. “If my film has made it to as many as four-crore people, as a director I am happy. I guess producers are happy at the response too.”
The dynamics at work in such OTT deals are yet to be decoded though. “While many films have gone the OTT route like Shakuntala Devi, Gulabo Sitabo, Coolie No 1 and Sherni, there is no yardstick on what can fetch how much. The producers who cannot hold films are taking that route given the uncertainty around the opening of cinemas. However, any rumours like that around Liger are bad for the film,” says film critic Taran Adarsh.
mona@tribunemail.com
