Talk: Many Under-Production Films Waiting For Budgets

At a time when nearly 200 films are coming out each year in Tollywood, there will be at least 50 notable films. If 10 of them have star heroes, the rest are mid-budgeted movies that make right buzz due to various factors. Of them, only a few work at the box office, and the fate of the rest depends on the OTT platforms.

Like how producers used to depend on satellite, audio, and dubbing rights earlier to produce movies, these days producers depend only on OTT platform rights to make money from their product. Sometimes, these OTT revenues don’t even cover even 50% of the investment. While that risk is there all the time, now the OTT platforms are not even buying many films.

The likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime are said to be buying medium-budget films that come only from big production houses. Because they are taking an assurance that if these medium-budgeted films, which are also flops, are bought, then the next big film should be given to them.

Recently, a flop film of a star-kid, which was produced by a reputed production house, was acquired by a top streaming platform, only with the assurance that the production house’s next big-ticketed film will be given to them.

For others, even if OTT platforms buy the films, they are releasing only a part of the amount, and the rest will be given only after the film's release. But then, with that money, and with loans from banks, some films are not even looking close to completion. Though producers are giving glimpses to fans, inside talk is that those movies need money to get wrapped up.