Chhaava<\/a>,\u2019 which was a good INR500-crore plus [$57 million] film. But apart from that, nothing else has been of that league. Instead, we\u2019ve had a range of mid-sized films in the INR150-200 crore [$17-22 million]bracket working,\u201d Kapoor said. \u201cThat gives the industry more stability and less dependence on one or two stars or franchises. It\u2019s a healthier type of growth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\tThe shift represents a significant evolution in audience behavior post-pandemic. Where 2024 saw prolonged stretches without major releases \u2013 leading to the unusual phenomenon of classic film re-releases filling theater schedules \u2013 this year has demonstrated that audiences will turn out for quality content across genres, not just action spectacles.<\/p>\n
\n\tYet, Kapoor warns against complacency. \u201cIdeally, we should not be satisfied with the same number being maintained. Any industry should look at 8-10% growth year on year. That hasn\u2019t happened in the last two years,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cAudiences essentially react to trailers and to other elements like music and star cast, largely [more] than what the story or the theme of the film is,\u201d Kapoor notes, emphasizing that pricing strategy has played a crucial role. He cites the success of \u201cSaiyaara,\u201d noting that early discount announcements allowed most audiences to watch at ticket prices closer to INR150-200 ($1.70-2.25) rather than premium prices of INR250-300 ($2.85-3.40), even in bigger cities.<\/p>\n
\n\tLooking ahead, Kapoor highlighted October\u2019s Kannada-language \u201cKantara\u201d prequel as a potential pan-India hit, alongside Hindi-language title \u201cDhurandhar\u201d and Maddock Films\u2019 supernatural franchise entry \u201cThama.\u201d He also pointed to the star-led Telugu-language slate and early anticipation around \u201cRamayan,\u201d slated for Diwali 2026.<\/p>\n
\n\tWhile theatrical shows signs of recovery, the streaming sector faces a more sobering reality. \u201cSubscriptions have stagnated,\u201d Kapoor states bluntly. \u201cThe 100 million subscriptions that are there in India, that number is not going to go up. The paid subscription model has found some saturation. In a country like India, where the idea of paying for entertainment is still not deeply ingrained, growth will have to come from ad-supported models,\u201d he says. He noted that platforms have already cut film acquisition costs by nearly 50%, reshaping production economics.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cEarlier platforms were willing to pay a huge premium to acquire a big theatrical film,\u201d Kapoor explains. \u201cToday, they\u2019re much more cautious. They\u2019re not acquiring that many smaller films. Bigger films also, they\u2019re trying to negotiate harder.\u201d The response has been a pivot toward advertising-supported models. Prime Video has already introduced ads in India, while Netflix is exploring similar options globally.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe JioCinema-Hotstar merger earlier this year resulted in the relaunch as JioStar, creating new dynamics as the platform becomes more active in content acquisition.<\/p>\n
\n\tWhile Tier 2 and Tier 3 audiences are now central to streamer strategies, Kapoor says change will take time. \u201cOf all original shows made in the last year and a half, as many as 49% are based in Mumbai or Delhi. That skews representation, because together those cities contribute barely 7% of the OTT [streaming] audience,\u201d he says. \u201cThe real impact of Tier 2 and 3 targeting may only be visible in another year or so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tTelevision, meanwhile, continues to be underestimated, Kapoor argues. \u201cTV has a perception problem. It\u2019s stagnant but not dying, with around 900 million viewers, far more than OTT. The bigger issue is advertisers moving away, which creates a narrative of decline,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\n\tAsked how the three major sectors \u2014 theatrical, streaming and TV \u2014 can grow in a country of 1.4 billion, Kapoor points to new formats. \u201cShorter, vertical content is where growth may come. In China, micro-dramas have overtaken theatrical. India is a smartphone-first market, so we have to look at formats that fit that screen,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe challenge remains significant: while India\u2019s population suggests massive market potential, Kapoor estimates that the entire content economy has been built around just 10-15% of the population, with 25% of the country remaining \u201cmedia dark\u201d without access to television or smartphones.<\/p>\n
\n\tKapoor also notes Hollywood\u2019s recovery in India this year. \u201cHollywood has really come back\u2026 this year, multiple films have done well. \u2018F1,\u2019 \u2018Superman\u2019 and \u2018Jurassic World\u2019 have done well. International content is also a way of engaging the market more,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source variety.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Indian entertainment industry is experiencing a tale of two recoveries, with theatrical business showing renewed strength while streaming platforms face unprecedented subscription stagnation, according to Shailesh Kapoor, founder and CEO of audience research firm Ormax Media. In an exclusive conversation with Variety, Kapoor paints a picture of cautious optimism for Bollywood and regional cinema, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2008282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[366787,366788,366789],"class_list":["post-2008281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-chhaava","tag-ormax","tag-shailesh-kapoor"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Bollywood-Bounces-Back-But-Streaming-Stagnates-Says-Ormax-Chief.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2008281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2008281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2008281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2008282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2008281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2008281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2008281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}