MUMBAI: For the past two days, big films have seen ducking a theatre release and going for an OTT premiere. Ayushmann Khurrana-Amitabh Bachchan and Vidya Balan announced the digital release of their upcoming films Gulabo Sitabo and Shakuntala Devi respectively. The actors along with the filmmakers took to social media to announce the same. The decision was due to the extended lockdown and it gave a big blow to the exhibitors. Multiplexes PVR and Inox were the first ones to express their disappointment. But seems like, not only these two, but we may also see a few more films having a digital release.
If Mid-day’s latest report is anything to go by, then the next films who are set for a direct-to-web release are The Kargil Girl, Ludo, and Jhund. Yes, you heard that right! The Kargil Girl stars Janhvi Kapoor in the lead role and co-stars Angad Bedi and Pankaj Tripathi. Ludo is a multi-starrer film with Fatima Sana Shaikh, Aditya Roy Kapur, Abhishek Bachchan, Sanya Malhotra among others, while Jhund is headlined by Amitabh Bachchan.
A trade source close to the development revealed to Mid-Day, 'They are all complete and awaiting release. Indoo Ki Jawaani, RoohiAfzana and Shiddat are in the last leg of post-production and may explore the digital route.' Earlier, it was reported that Akshay Kumar was in talks with Disney+Hotstar for the digital release of Laxmmi Bomb.
Let's Play #Ludo......24th April 2020.@ipritamofficial @juniorbachchan
— anurag basu (@basuanurag) December 27, 2019
@RajkummarRao @fattysanashaikh #AdityaRoyKapur @TripathiiPankaj @sanyamalhotra07
#RohitSaraf @iamDivyaKhosla
#TaniBasu #KrishanKumar #AnuragBasuProductions @TSeries pic.twitter.com/Fy9PmeNMKE
ALSO READ - (Janhvi Kapoor question to her trainer is all of us amidst the lockdown!)
Speaking about the loss the exhibitors are facing due to the online release of these two films, a Trade source revealed to Mid-Day, ‘The distribution sector earns around Rs 75 crore from a big film, and about Rs 15 crore to Rs 25 crore from a medium-budget venture. Exhibitors and distributors are looking at a collective loss of around Rs 50 crore from Gulabo Sitabo and Shakuntala Devi's OTT premiere.'
T 3415 - JHUND ... झुंड !! #Jhund@Nagrajmanjule @itsBhushanKumar #KrishanKumar #RaajHiremath #SavitaRajHiremath #GargeeKulkarni #MeenuAroraa @AjayAtulOnline @tandavfilms @aatpaat @TSeries pic.twitter.com/4zB9zS5lbj
— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) January 20, 2020
Mohan Umrotkar, CEO, Carnival Cinemas too reacted to these two films' direct-to-web release. He told the tabloid, 'Ayushmann Khurrana is having a golden run at the box-office, his film would have garnered close to Rs 75 crore. Coupled with Vidya's film, the two would have generated close to Rs 95 crore at the box-office. So, we are staring at huge losses. I understand there will be a rush of movies when the lockdown is lifted. That said, we were expecting them to stand by us because we are family,' added the CEO.
SOURCE – SPOTBOYE
ALSO READ – (IMDb Celebrates the Rise of Actor Neeraj Kabi in the Latest Episode of "No Small Parts")
Add new comment