Indian film industry staring at bigger loss in 2021 | Economic Times

The Indian film industry is staring at a much bigger loss than last year, despite the fact that in 2020 cinema halls were shut for almost eight months as Covid-19 cases hit record numbers across the country.Filmmakers, industry pundits as well as trade analysts feel that last year there were many ready to release films but when the theatres shut down, the video streaming platforms emerged as a “saviour” for films.Starting with ‘Gulaabo Sitaabo’, more than 50 films were directly released on streaming platforms in 2020, which consequently mitigated fall in theatrical revenues.According to the latest Ficci-EY media and entertainment report, 49% of the total revenues generated through filmed entertainment in 2020 came from the sale of digital and streaming platforms’ rights of films.“A lot of OTT services started paying big money last year to the film producers to get their films directly on their digital platforms in order to drive subscription revenues. Their business model was different and the success of the films mattered less to them as these were merely a customer acquisition tool for the platforms,” said a former top executive of an OTT service.But to their dismay, a large number of these films acquired by streaming platforms failed to generate new eyeballs.Big-budget and star-studded films such as ‘Sadak 2’, ‘Coolie No.1’, ‘Laxmii’ and others received poor response.Hence, trade analysts say streaming platforms have turned cautious in acquiring new films.Moreover, sporadic lockdowns and restrictions by states and local bodies have further disrupted the business and the release schedules.“With Maharashtra shutting down cinema halls, no Hindi movie was going to be released. Now that Delhi has also imposed lockdown for a week and other states are expected to follow, you will once again see massive loss to the cinema industry,” said trade analyst and independent film distributor Shaaminder Malik.He added that it’s a double whammy for the film industry this time, as producers have to again push the release dates of their films and OTTs are only looking to buy big films.“In either of the situations, the film industry’s theatrical revenues are likely to plunge further,” he said.A film producer, whose one film is ready since last year, said. “Last year, the industry carried on with hope... there was a total lockdown but we thought that once the situation improves, audiences will be back with a bang. However, with the current rise in cases, the horizon is not looking good. The situation is very grim. The cost of money on my film is almost half of the film’s budget now. If this continues, I will have to sell my movie at a loss”.