New Delhi: For too long, film producers have relied on satellite and digital sales, rather than box office receipts, to recoup their investments. A key pillar of their strategy was to pay high fees to hire top actors and leverage their star power to achieve financial success.
The spending spree proved disastrous as the films flopped at the box office and producers were unable to sell satellite rights even as streaming platforms grew cautious, industry experts said.
Not long ago, Vashu Bhagnani, who runs Pooja Entertainment, had to sell his office space as employee dues running into several crores remained unpaid, making headlines.
“The industry is in a time of constant change. OTT has disrupted traditional revenue models and the influx of content has increased competition. With post-pandemic repercussions still being felt on moviegoing, the ever-increasing fees for stars and their entourages has put a strain on the budgets of independent producers,” said Roohi Bhatia, Chief Strategy and Operations Officer, Civic Studios.
Independent producers
While some independent producers are often the ones pushing the boundaries on important social issues that are often overlooked, these are not considered commercially viable, which can lead to producers going overboard on large-scale projects with exorbitant marketing budgets, Bhatia added. “Most importantly, the industry is now adapting to changing audience preferences and demographic shifts in streaming,” he noted.
Certainly, industry experts say financial indiscipline and unrealistic fees paid to stars without knowing whether the films in question will recoup the investment at the box office or other rights have left some producers in the lurch.
The situation is particularly difficult for producers who don’t have the backing of major studios or who didn’t factor in data on how much money films in a similar budget range were making from OTT and TV rights after the pandemic eased. While moviegoing remains uncertain as audiences stay away from even big-star titles, sales of satellite and OTT TV rights have declined, and broadcasters and streaming platforms have become cautious.
“The box office has remained well below par for the past two years and all the platforms are renegotiating deals. Many films were conceptualised during the pandemic and OTT services were supposed to help recoup the expenses by buying their rights but things have not turned out as expected. It is worse for producers who were simply putting together projects based on expected refunds or government subsidies, banking on stars who have failed to attract anyone,” said a producer who asked not to be named.
The person said the names in question have not paid attention to the changing tastes and demands of the audience nor have they tried to bring something new to the screens.
Box office performance
In recent months, large-scale projects such as Bad Miyan Chote Miyan (endorsed by Bhagnani), field, yodha, sarfira, Where in my mind were you?and more recently, Khel Khel Meinhave failed at the box office.
That said, with the impressive numbers of films like Street 2and Kalki 2898 AD Previously, industry experts said that well-made films, which have enhanced scale and spectacle along with compelling stories, are finding their audience.
“The kind of films that have been successful are the honest ones, well-narrated, well-priced and have good word-of-mouth. It’s not so much about who, but what,” said producer Tanuj Garg of Ellipsis Entertainment.
Disclaimer:
The information contained in this post is for general information purposes only. We make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the post for any purpose.
We respect the intellectual property rights of content creators. If you are the owner of any material featured on our website and have concerns about its use, please contact us. We are committed to addressing any copyright issues promptly and will remove any material within 2 days of receiving a request from the rightful owner.