From Shakuntala Devi to Ponmagal Vandhal ⁠— 7 movies across languages will release first on Amazon Prime and that’s making PVR and INOX anxious

• The six films, available in five different languages, include Shakuntala Devi featuring Vidya Balan, and Ponmagal Vandhal starring Jyotika.
  
• These films will be released on Amazon Prime Videos in the next three months.
• Previously, Amitabh Bachchan, in a twitter post, announced the digital release of Gulabo Sitabo on June 12.

Amazon Prime Videos is hitting the theatres it hurt the most. After announcing the digital release of Gulabo Sitabo, the OTT giant confirmed digital release of six other much awaited films on its platforms.

The six films, available in five different languages, include Shakuntala Devi featuring Vidya Balan, Ponmagal Vandhal starring Jyotika, Penguin starring Keerthy Suresh (Tamil and Telugu), Sufiyum Sujatayum (Malayalam) starring Aditi Rao Hydari, Law (Kannada) featuring Ragini Chandran and Siri Prahlad, and French Biryani (Kannada).

Previously, Amitabh Bachchan, in a twitter post, announced the digital release of Gulabo Sitabo on June 12. These films will be released on Amazon Prime Videos in the next three months.

Release schedule on Amazon Prime Videos

Ponmagal Vandhal	May 29
Penguin	June 19
Law	June 26
Sufiyum Sujatayum	Not yet announced
French Biryani	July 24
Shakuntala Devi	Not yet announced

This is bad news for theatre owners including multiplex operators like PVR and Inox. “Expect occupancy in multiplexes to remain low in initial weeks and envisage recovery to begin from the festive season (September-October 2020), which is likely to coincide with the release of big-budget movies,” an Edelweiss report said last week. In the meantime, they will lose precious business.

While fans must be cheering for the digital release, theatre owners are disappointed and angry. Coronavirus has forced around 9000 screens in India to shut down for an unknown time period — making cinema halls lose ₹150 crore a week. And now with producers opting for digital release, these cinema halls might struggle to survive.INOX had earlier expressed “displeasure” on digital release of Gulabo Sitabo.



“Indian audiences have been eagerly awaiting the release of these 7 highly anticipated films and we are delighted that Amazon Prime Video will now be premiering these movies for our customers - who can enjoy watching these from the safety & comfort of their homes and on a screen of their choice,” said Gaurav Gandhi, Director and Country General Manager, Amazon Prime Video India.

Gandhi believes digital release will allow these films to reach its viewers 4000 cities and towns across 200 countries. However, it is yet not clear whether these films will be available in the existing prime membership plan. Moreover, India still doesn’t have the pay per view on Amazon prime videos yet.

Apart from Amazon Prime Videos, other OTT platforms like Zee5 and Netflix are also chasing producers for digital release of films that have finished production.

See also: Bollywood gives in -- Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana starrer Gulabo Sitabo won't wait for theatres, will release on Amazon Prime