Director Gunasekhar recently raised concerns about short OTT windows affecting theatrical revenues. He pointed out that even successful films like Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu are arriving on OTT within four weeks, which reduces the urgency for audiences to watch them in theatres.
He argued that the audience is not at fault, but the industry itself. According to him, post COVID trends and attractive OTT deals have changed viewing habits, with many people choosing to wait for digital releases. He also observed that, at present, only big star films are drawing crowds to cinemas.
Gunasekhar further mentioned that while Sankranthi releases performed well, his film Euphoria failed largely because of its early OTT release. He suggested extending the OTT window to at least three months, believing that this would give films more time to grow in theatres through word of mouth.
However, this argument has not convinced everyone. Many feel that while a longer OTT window might help genuinely good films, it cannot save a weak movie. In the case of Euphoria, the bigger issue was its content. The first half was still decent, but the completely clueless second half ruined the experience for the audience. The film failed to connect with audiences in theatres, and even after its OTT release, it did not generate any traction.
Even if the OTT gap was one year, Euphoria would still have flopped because audiences did not care about the film. Poor word of mouth, weak promotional material, and lack of audience interest played a much bigger role in its failure.
Blaming OTT windows has become a convenient excuse for directors to defend poorly made films. Ultimately, strong storytelling and engaging content remain the biggest drivers. If a film truly connects, audiences will watch it, whether in theatres or at least later on OTT. A good film never goes unnoticed.
