There is a debate going on in Tollywood about releasing the films in theatres on rentals or percentage basis. Several crucial meetings are going on for now. Things will be finalized in the coming days and several decisions will be made before the end of this month. Some of the producers are supporting the rental system while some of them are supporting the percentage system. While this discussion has taken the front seat, there are two bigger threats which are haunting the producers from a longer time. Here are the details:

Piracy Threat: Piracy has been creating a huge damage for the theatrical revenues from the past few years. But the producers have never initiated solid steps to curb piracy. The recent leaks of the HD copies of several biggies are shocking. Though the producers of Telugu cinema had plans to meet and discuss about this, nothing solid took place. A special cell and teams should be formed and strict measures have to be implemented to curb piracy. All the producers should also come ahead and invest some money to spend on ways how to prevent piracy. The HD copies of the top films are getting leaked even before the film’s release. Tollywood has to focus including the Film Chamber, Producers Council and other crafts.

OTT Window: With the arrival of digital platforms, a section of the audience are not much interested to watch films in theatres. Some of the audience are quite selective and they are stepping out to watch films in theatres only if the film is a super hit. All this is because of the OTT release cap. The producers are selling off the digital rights for hefty prices and the digital platforms are streaming them in 28 days of the theatrical release date which is a big loss. This is killing the footfalls and this is a big dent for the theatrical revenue. Eight weeks gap between a theatrical and an OTT release can do wonders. This has to be considered by the producers.