Kamal Haasan’s Thug Life faces ₹25 lakh fine for early OTT release after film fails: Report
Kamal Haasan’s Thug Life is helmed by Mani Ratnam. The film was slated to follow a gap of 8 weeks between its theatrical and OTT release.
Actor Kamal Haasan and filmmaker Mani Ratnam's Thug Life failed terribly at the box office. After its release on 5 June, the film failed to sustain itself at the theatres and only in just 3rd week, it's now out of most theatres across India, as per reports. As the film now heads towards its OTT release, it seems the Kamal Haasan film will be fined for skipping its previously committed 8-week gap between its theatrical and OTT release.
Kamal Haasan’s Thug Life fined for early OTT release
According to a report of Pinkvilla, Thug Life will be fined by multiplexes for not adhering to the standard theatrical window.
Reportedly, due to the film’s underwhelming performance at the box office, Netflix has lowered the OTT acquisition price for Thug Life.
A source told the entertainment portal, “Thug Life will premiere on Netflix in just 4 weeks. The negotiations were made after Netflix decided to reduce the OTT price of Thug Life. The film was valued at ₹130 crore prior to the release, and Netflix was looking to renegotiate the price at ₹90 crore after the dismissal run. But the parties eventually settled down at ₹110 crore for the digital right, with a reduced OTT window of 4 weeks.”
“There’s a norm in North India to strictly follow a 8-week window. As Thug Life time has breached the guidelines, the National Multiplex Chains have imposed a fine on the producers. It’s a nominal amount, where the producers and distributors of Thug Life have to forgo their theatrical share from Hindi. Incidentally, the amount comes to ₹25 lakh,” the source added.
Thug Life's OTT debut
The report also added that this is the second time after Indian 2 that the makers have backed out of their promise to an 8-week gap window ahead of the film's OTT release. While it is said that multiplex owners are still trying to get the Thug Life team to stick to the full 8-week window, chances are slim; the film is expected to make its digital debut soon.
Thug Life will stream on Netflix.
The film also stars Silambarasan, Trisha Krishnan, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Abhirami, Ashok Selvan, Joju George, Nassar, Mahesh Manjrekar, Ali Fazal, Sanjana Krishnamoorthy and Tanikella Bharani.
It is co-written by Kamal Haasan who has jointly produced the film. It is backed by Raaj Kamal Films International and Madras Talkies.
The film landed in a controversy over Kamal Haasan's Tamil-Kannada remark.