While Telugu producers often lament poor box office returns and urge audiences to support theatrical releases, their own decisions appear to undermine those appeals.
In Bollywood, big-ticket films typically maintain an eight-week theatrical-to-OTT window.
Tollywood, by contrast, had earlier imposed a self-regulated rule of at least four weeks. But even that benchmark is increasingly being ignored, with streaming giants premiering films as early as the 25th day.
Take Hari Hara Veera Mallu, for instance. The Pawan Kalyan starrer hit theaters on July 24 but arrived on Prime Video on August 20; just 27 days later, falling short of the 30-day threshold.
Similarly, Netflix is set to stream Vijay Deverakonda’s Kingdom on August 27, barely 26 days after its theatrical release.
Adding to the concern, many of these OTT deals are being finalized while the films are still in production.
Producers, meanwhile, justify the early releases by citing a “four weekends” clause; a technical loophole that allows films to hit digital platforms before the 30-day period is complete.
