Tamil film producers put releases on hold over 'streaming' row

Theatrical window—the period for which a film is exhibited in a theatre before its release on streaming platforms—has once again emerged as a point of friction between exhibitors and producers.

In Tamil Nadu, in the past few days, producers and exhibitors are on opposite sides about increasing the theatrical window of Tamil films to eight weeks from four. Consequently, producers have said that no new Tamil film will be released in theatres in Tamil Nadu from September 1. They also said film shootings and post-production works for existing films will stop from September 1.


But film trade analysts and industry veterans in the state are hopeful that an amicable solution is likely to emerge in the next week.

A consensus is steadily developing within the state that producers and exhibitors may agree for an eight-week theatrical window for new Tamil films that have not locked streaming deals, Chennai-based film trade analysts and industry veterans said.

‘I am hopeful that this issue will be resolved. There are more than 30,000 daily film workers working in the state. So, there is a labour issue also. I am hoping that both parties agree to an eight-week window for fresh films which have not locked OTT deals,’ said Ramesh Bala, a Chennai-based entertainment sector analyst.

According to box office research firm Ormax Media, between January and July 2026, Tamil films contributed 13% to India’s box office collection.

In the past five years, southern film industries have been following a four-week theatrical window. In contrast with this, the theatrical window in the Hindi film industry has been eight weeks.

Of late, exhibitors in Tamil Nadu have been demanding assurance from producers to increase their theatrical window to eight weeks from four. They argued that their business was being impacted on two counts. One is a lower theatrical window reduces the business potential of a film to only four weeks. And the other is the pre-release streaming platforms deals of producers. Since audiences know before a film’s theatrical release its streaming release, they postpone their visit to theatres, exhibitors said.

But producers pointed out that increasing theatrical window impacts prices at which they sell digital rights to streamers. ‘A long theatrical window means streamers pay lower prices for films and producers lose money in the bargain," said film producer S R Prabhu. Producers have been recovering either full or a large part of their investments from the sale of digital rights of their films to streamers.


Producers also said exhibitors cannot guarantee them a full eight week run for films in theatres if their films do not perform well.

The discrepancy in the practice of theatrical window for southern and Hindi films has been another concern for producers who make pan-India films.

‘The wider issue is that holdback periods are not uniform across languages. A pan-India film can end up with two different holdback windows. One is around 28 days for the original southern language. And the other is 56 days for the dubbed Hindi version under the understanding between the multiplex association and Hindi producer bodies,’ pointed out Anushree Rauta, equity partner, head, media & entertainment practice, at law firm ANM Global.

To deal with this challenge, producers skip the Hindi theatrical release entirely. So, they give up box office revenue to protect a streaming platform deal.

An industry veteran shared that in a meeting with exhibitors a proposal was made for making the eight-week rule effective from January 1, 2027, for films that begin production after that date. But the suggestion was rejected.