With this leak of Baby John in Ultra HD with 5.1 audio, the movie and Amazon Prime Video have hit rock bottom. The movie was already badly placed at the box office; with its high print circulating online and threatening to disrupt its digital exclusivity, there is even greater competition.
Baby John opened at ₹11.25 crore but soon faltered, collecting ₹35.4 crore by day eight, according to trade experts. With daily earnings dropping to ₹1 crore, many single-screen theaters stopped screening the film, signaling its failure.
It’s just a week since the movie has hit screens, and its HD print has leaked. All scenes are now floating around free on social media platforms.
Other than devaluing what little remains of an already weak theatrical, it also dilutes the value of OTT rights. By leaking, it further dilutes the attraction towards its soon-to-be-released digital version, which amounts to greater monetary damage.
Amazon Prime Video loses because the viewership has reduced as the movie is free and can be accessed because of piracy. This reveals that piracy is a threat in an increasing mode and adds to the disturbance of revenues across all platforms while hurting the ecosystem of the film industry.
The leak of Baby John is an example of the hurting impact piracy has on films and OTT platforms. This industry needs stronger anti-piracy measures to flourish, protect investments, and ensure creators are paid fairly.
