A new, inevitable trend has recently started in the Indian film industry, and it’s continuing as an operational burden — corporate bulk bookings of tickets, from big-budget films to smaller ones.
Yes, not every movie that records “houseful” shows or impressive advance bookings is genuinely pulling in audiences. A portion of those figures includes corporate bookings made deliberately to inflate the numbers.
The goal of the producers isn’t necessarily to increase the market value of the stars based on demand — it’s mainly to impress OTT platforms.
Even after finalizing a sale agreement with an OTTs, the platforms often include several conditions, one of which is that the full payment won’t be released unless the film performs reasonably well in theatres. If it doesn’t attract a considerable audience, the agreed amount may be reduced.
So, to ensure they get the full payment from OTTs, producers are resorting to advance bulk bookings — in cities, rural regions, anywhere possible.
When it comes to big films, the burden is even heavier. The OTT rights for major releases can be worth over Rs 100 crore, and to secure that, producers may end up spending a few crores just to create the illusion of box office success through corporate bookings.
In the end, this trend has become a financial burden on producers, an evidence-on-paper tactic for OTTs to release the promised payment, and an indirect market boost for the stars involved.
The ones gaining the most out of this setup are, ironically, the heroes themselves, who benefit from enhanced market perception without necessarily delivering real audience pull.
