With the emergence of OTT platforms, theatres are witnessing less crowd.
For the theatres, Friday is concerned as a sacred with new releases. Sadly, gone are those days, the
the collective thrill of queuing up for tickets, the smell of popcorn, and the promise of cinematic escape. Today, that euphoria is missing. A close look at this year, the theatres were a witness to
only a handful of Hindi films that truly stirred the audience’s imagination. Theatres, once buzzing with anticipation, now host smaller crowds, and more often than not, most people are saying: ‘Let’s wait for the OTT release of the film.’
Notably, in an age where content is unlimited, and attention span seems to be fleeting, this switch feels inevitable. While small and mid-budget films might still find a second life online through healthy OTT viewership numbers, big-budget spectacles aren’t inspiring the same box-office frenzy they once did.
This year, most of the films that drew packed houses across India are international or regional: ‘F1’, ‘Jurassic World’, ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’, ‘Superman’, and the homegrown superhit ‘Kantara: Chapter 1’ come to mind. In contrast, Hindi cinema seems to be waiting months amid genuine crowd-pullers: the rare ‘Chhaava’ or ‘Saiyaara’. Sure, ‘Jolly LLB 3’, ‘Housefull 5’, ‘Thamma’ or ‘Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat’ might have turned a profit, but more because of smart budgeting than unmissable hype.
Part of the problem lies in the habit that streaming platforms have nurtured. The mindset now seems to be: Why pay for something I’ll be able to watch at home in a few weeks?
This hurts mid-tier films the most: the ones featuring a Rajkummar Rao or a Ayushmann Khurrana, whose charm thrives on story and performance rather than scale.
As per Trade analyst Ramesh Bala that cost is a major deterrent: These days, going to the theatre is an expensive proposition. For a family of four, it can easily cost around Rs 2,000. So people only go if it’s a big-screen experience — a blockbuster, a massive star, something everyone’s raving about. For 95 per cent of regular films, they prefer to wait for OTT.”
He adds that OTT isn’t the only competitor, attention itself has new suitors.
“People spend hours on Instagram Reels and YouTube. Their attention span is shorter. They watch
20-minute videos and move on. Entertainment has become fragmented: YouTube, Insta, OTT, and traditional movie-going has taken a hit.”
For trade expert and film producer Girish Johar, the post-pandemic viewer is not just selective, but also time-conscious.
Adding that to watch a three-hour film, you invest at least four hours, including travel. Add to that the cost of tickets, popcorn, and maybe a meal afterwards, and you are looking at ₹ 5,000-6,000 for a weekend outing if you are a family. That’s not a small amount.
He explains that the movie-going experience has evolved from a weekly ritual into a luxury event: one that requires justification.
“People think twice now: is the film worth their money, time, and mood? If the film turns out bad, offensive or triggering, you can’t get that time or money back. For an average working-class viewer, a trip to the cinema once every month or two is already a stretch.
The bigger shift
Cinema was once the heartbeat of popular culture: the centre of every conversation. But today, a new generation consumes stories in seconds, not hours. Reels, short videos, and micro-shows have become the dominant form of visual expression. The communal theatre experience: laughter, applause, tears shared in the dark, is being replaced by the comfort of solitary streaming.
Post-pandemic, the equation has transformed.Theatres now compete not just with other films, but with the entire ecosystem of convenience.
News Edit KV Raman
