Earlier this week, Ormax Media released the mid-year streaming report, on the top original content on OTT in India, in the first half of the year (link). The report is on expected lines, with Panchayat S3 and Heeramandi being the two most-watched OTT originals in the first half of 2024 in India (Mirzapur S3 was released in July and is not covered in this report). However, the decline of the direct-to-OTT film format stands out as a key streaming trend in 2024 so far.
Only four direct-to-OTT films across languages (though all four happen to be Hindi films) have crossed an estimated viewership of 10 Million in the first half of the year: Amar Singh Chamkila, Murder Mubarak, Ae Watan Mere Watan, and Maharaj. In contrast, nine fiction series (8 Hindi and The Boys S4 from Hollywood) and four unscripted shows (reality/documentary formats) have managed to achieve this mark.
The direct-to-OTT film format gained immense traction in 2020-21, during the lockdowns, when theatrical films were forced to release directly on the medium. This led to many films being commissioned for OTT, and many films that were originally conceived for a theatrical release curtail their ambition, and opt for a safer, invariably profitable, OTT release.
Last year’s viewership report had Prime Video’s Bawaal at more than 20 Million estimated viewers in India, despite the film getting mixed reactions from the audience and the critics. Those numbers seem like a distant dream now. No film has touched the 13 Million mark in the first half of this year, and from what it looks like, we may not have one in the second half either.
Platforms are not keen on commissioning direct-to-OTT films anymore. These films must be marketed as standalone properties, compared to theatrical releases, which come pre-marketed. Theatrical films dwarf direct-to-OTT films on viewership, and carry much higher potency to generate new subscriptions too. Direct-to-OTT films don’t offer the scope for franchise building either, like a series would do. Franchise shows dominate the viewership charts for all platforms.
This spells bad news for cinema that lacks a certain minimum scale needed to make it big-sreeen worthy. With big films continuing to get bigger (Kalki 2898 AD alone accounted for 15% of India box office in the first half of 2024), the smaller, more intimate films, that rely on realistic storytelling rather than larger-than-life portrayals, were beginning to find a good destination on OTT. But that’s no longer the case.
Where do such films go? If they release theatrically, they carry the tag of a flop when they come on streaming. They invariably underperform, and this creates further doubts at the platform end, on whether such films are worth spending money on.
We may well be entering a phase when such cinema, that cannot appeal to the theatrical audience’s post-pandemic taste, will phase itself out. The makers would try and tell the same stories through series instead. But it’s not as if the series business is flourishing in 2024 either.
The streaming honeymoon in India is clearly over. And the decline of the direct-to-OTT film format in 2024 is a telltale sign.