Analysis: This is where South films failing to bag North market

Kollywood’s biggest blockbuster of the year, “Jailer,” collected solid numbers from its Tamil version. Also, the Telugu version contributed extremely well. If we look at last year’s blockbuster, “Vikram,” the scenario is the same as most of the numbers came from the Tamil version. But the Hindi collections of these two films disappointed when compared to their total earnings. Even a few Telugu films like Nani’s “Dasara,” Sai Dharam Tej’s“Virupaksha,” and Vijay Deverakonda’s“Kushi” didn’t bag much amounts from the north.

Due to the OTT window issue, these biggies have lost a solid chance to strike gold in the Hindi market. Back in 2022, the exhibitors and multiplex associations up north took a resolution that there should be a minimum of an 8-week gap between the theatrical and OTT release of a film. Tamil and Telugu biggies generally arrive on OTT within four to five weeks of their theatrical release. Multiplex associations in the Hindi belt decided not to screen those films that don’t follow to the OTT window gap. Hence, the movies mentioned above weren’t able to get shows in multiplexes, which ultimately took a toll on their collections.

There has always been a discussion about the same in Tollywood, but the less OTT window gap between theatrical and OTT releases isn’t helping the movies. Hindi is a vast market, and we have seen how films like “Kantara” and “Karthikeya 2” did magic in Hindi, riding on glowing word of mouth.

Up next, south films like “Skanda,”“Leo,”“Tiger Nageswara Rao” are ready to grace cinemas nationwide in multiple languages, including Hindi. If their OTT window gap follows to the regulations set by the multiplex associations, only then can we expect big numbers from the north. It is still a question mark how filmmakers down south will tackle this issue from hereon.