Hence, small- and mid-sized movies can easily recover their costs if they opt for an OTT release.

Disney+Hotstar on Thursday said it will premiere late actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s Dil Bechara on its platform on July 24. The movie directed by Mukesh Chhabra and produced by Fox Star Studios was originally slated for a theatrical launch. The OTT firm said the film will be available to all subscribers and non-subscribers across India—which means it is not behind the paywall.

Earlier this month, Netflix announced the acquisition of Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl featuring Janhvi Kapoor.

Amazon Prime Video was the first to globally premiere Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana starrer Gulabo Sitabo on June 12. Prime Video will also premiere Vidya Balan’s Shakuntala Devi although it has not yet revealed the date of release.

With theatres shut from mid-March and no clarity on the resumption of their operations, film producers have turned to over-the-top (OTT) platforms to release their movies—primarily those that are built on a low to medium budget. Producers incur monthly holding cost for movies until they are released and monetised.

Industry experts say OTT platforms are paying at least 40-50% more to the producers to acquire digital rights of the movies compared to what they would have paid in case the movies had a theatrical launch. Hence, small- and mid-sized movies can easily recover their costs if they opt for an OTT release.

More films can be expected to have OTT releases going forward. “We are humbled to be able to play a small part in sustaining the legacy of a fine actor like Sushant Singh Rajput,” said Uday Shankar, president, The Walt Disney Company APAC, and chairman, Star & Disney India.