OTT Versus Theaters: Two Extremes!

Superstar Mahesh Babu’s Sankranthi release, “Guntur Kaaram,” directed by Trivikram Srinivas and starring Sreeleela, has been impressing audiences on the Netflix global charts.

In its second week on Netflix, “Guntur Karam” secured the 8th position in the global top 10 chart, amassing 1.8 million views. Surprisingly, the Hindi version of the film secured this spot in the Top 10 non-English film category.

Simultaneously, Shah Rukh Khan’s “Dunki” claimed the 5th position with an impressive 6 million views, marking a significant milestone for the star.

Despite the perception that movies not performing well in theaters won’t gain popularity on OTT or TV, “Guntur Kaaram” and “Dunki” have garnered more audience in OTT release than theatrical release.

Mahesh Babu’s energetic performance was a plus point for “Guntur Karam,” while the audience appreciated the emotional scenes in Shah Rukh Khan’s “Dunki”.

Despite “Salaar” leading in worldwide gross collections, “Dunki” has dominated the competition on Netflix.

Upon its arrival on the platform, “Dunki” garnered 6 million views and was watched for 15 million hours. During the period of February 12-18, it secured the 5th spot on the list of top 10 non-English films on Netflix.

Contrastingly, “Salaar” made its Netflix debut on January 20th across multiple languages but secured the 3rd position in its debut week with 1.6 million views and 4.8 million viewing hours.

The resounding digital success of Guntur Kaaam and Dunki on OTT underscores a fundamental truth: the OTT audience and the theater audience represent two distinct extremes.

What may falter in theaters can soar to unprecedented heights in the digital realm, demonstrating the dynamic and unpredictable nature of audience preferences.