Film exhibitor’s body calls for theatre shutdown in protest against ‘2018’s OTT release

etimes.in / Jun 6, 2023, 18:11 IST

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In a bold and unprecedented move, the film exhibitor's body has announced a protest against the release of the film '2018' on an Over-The-Top (OTT) platform. The association has decided to shut down theatres for a period of two days to make a strong statement about their concerns regarding the impact of OTT releases on the traditional theatrical business model.

Film exhibitor’s body calls for theatre shutdown in protest against ‘2018’s OTT release

(Picture Courtesy: Facebook)

In response to the release of the film titled '2018' on an Over-The-Top (OTT) platform, the film exhibitor's body has made the decision to stage a protest by shutting down theatres for a duration of two days. This unprecedented move is a strong statement from the exhibitor's association, highlighting their concerns regarding the impact of OTT releases on traditional theatrical business.

Reportedly, the movie theatres will be shut down on June 7 and 8 and those who have already booked the movie tickets on these days will be given a refund.The film will be hitting a popular OTT platform from June 7 onwards.
According to the sources, the film exhibitors are not happy as ‘2018’ is starting its online streaming just 33 days after the movie hit the big screens, which is a complete violation of the 42-day window period permitted by the film chamber for all OTT releases.

Meanwhile, ‘2018’ is the only movie that raked in good numbers at the box office in 2023, apart from ‘Romanjam’, and releasing the film early on OTT platforms would clearly affect its box office collections. The Tovino Thomas starrer reportedly crossed Rs 160 crores worldwide and Rs 84 crores from Kerala.

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