Netflix will debut the Tamil film Doctor, which set cash registers ringing after its theatrical release earlier this month, on 4 November for the Diwali weekend, followed by a Sun TV satellite premiere.
Nelson Dilipkumar has directed the action thriller, which stars Sivakarthikeyan in the lead.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, it has become common for some filmmakers to skip a theatrical release. Especially, south filmmakers are choosing to directly premier their work on TV instead of choosing to display their movies on OTT platforms.
Over the past few months, satellite television has been releasing a slew of new titles including Vadivudaiya’s Tughlaq Darbar, Reliance Entertainment‘s Mandela and Aelay, and Tamil film Sarbath to cash in on holiday weekends when broadcasters are known to grab family audience attentions and excellent festive advertising.
The approach works best for low-cost films that make money via satellite rights sales and a digital release, as opposed to big names, mainstream movies for direct-to-digital release.
Small-budget movies, according to industry experts, can benefit from the TV premiere since subsequent OTT releases are more affordable.
Because streaming platforms are willing to pay upwards of double the rates offered by television channels for the bigger budget films, especially in Hindi, it’s no surprise why more popular vehicles would want to go straight to OTT if theatrical release isn’t feasible.
It is observed that streaming services prefer to acquire ready films including those from the regional cinemas. However, a great emphasis is being paid to certain big titles involving popular faces.
Small features that were ready to go but remained stuck due to the covid-19 pandemic have no option but to seek out new, specialized platforms that don’t provide comparable rates.
If this is the case, TV debuts are an excellent choice for reaching out to family audiences, especially since they can now be streamed on any device.