Multiplex chains will remain shut at least for another month as the Central government has not given them the nod to open doorsin its latest guidelines.

On Tuesday, leading multiplex chains such as PVR and Inox Leisure took to Twitter to announce that they are gearing up to release two big ticket flicks – Rohit Shetty’s Sooryavansham on Diwali and Kabir Khan’s 83 on Christmas this year. This move comes a day after Disney + Hotstar announced the release of seven Bollywood movies on the platform.

Analysts believe that while the trend of medium and small budget movie opting for a OTT release may accelerate in the short term, some producers of big-budget flick will look to release their flicks on the big screen. However, concerns are rife about the lack of availability of content for the box office in the later part of the year.

Jehil Thakkar, Partner, Deloitte India said: “With uncertainty over when the exhibition window re-opens, more producers with finished projects will look at releasing them at the OTT platforms if they get the right price for their content. But there will still be a few who will wait. Nearly 70 per cent of the OTT content consumption happens on smartphones and large budget movies are tailor-made for big screen release.”

While some States have allowed content makers to begin production with restrictions, production activity for films has not yet picked up in a significant manner due to rising Covid-19 cases and concerns about the safety of the cast and crew. “This may lead to issues with content availability at the box office,” Thakkar added

Rakesh Jariwala, Partner-EY India said concerns on “carrying cost of inventory” may lead to short term measures of releasing their movies on OTT platforms. “However, on a longer term horizon, the trend towards creating screen specific content will be further augmented. Experience-based movies will continue to aim at theatrical window as their primary release and revenue opportunity,” he added.

Sources said that the multiplex industry expects to get a nod to open doors to consumers by August-September. Mohan Umrotkar, CEO, Carnival Cinemas, said: “It is very disappointing that the filmmakers are opting for the digital first route when they are just steps away from the theaterical release with the re-opening of cinema halls with necessary precautions.”

However, analysts believe additional 5-7 small and medium budget flicks may opt for direct digital release. Karan Taurani, Vice-President, Elara Capital, said: “We believe even if cinemas were to open pan India by October / November, there will be a shortfall of large budget Hindi films as we are still some time away from shooting beginning for the Hindi films despite the permission being granted by government.”

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