Tamil Nadu theatre owners have threatened big stars for releasing their films on OTT even before the completion of 100 days which is hampering single screens profits. A section of theatre owners have have submitted recommendations during a meet byTamil Nadu’s west zone theatre owners. The recommendations will be considered and given a thought on by the Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners’ Association during a meeting in January, 2020.
Tiruppur Subramaniam, president of the Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners Association, said,“A major portion of the production costs goes towards the salaries today and producers struggle when the film fails at the box office. It is only fair for the big stars to contribute in some way to ease the pressure on the producers and distributors.” He further added, “I am not asking the stars to work for free. Their salaries will have to be justifiable. They can give their next call-sheet to the producer if their previous film did badly. This isn’t unprecedented. MGR and Shivaji used to do it”.
He further continued, “Profits from theatres, as it is, is very low these days. Imagine the plight of small theatre owners. We strongly feel that a big star’s film should not release on OTT before completing its 100-days run in theatres. We are not asking about all films. Only for those with the big stars, who pull in the crowds. This again isn’t new. The Hindi industry functions in this way.”
