Arvind Swamy and Karthi's Tamil drama Satyam Sundaram (Meiyazhagan in Tamil) has become a huge hit on Netflix, attracting 4.7 million views in just two weeks.
Known for its heartfelt storytelling, the film experienced a remarkable 47% viewership boost in its second week, rising from 1.9 million views in the first week to 2.8 million. This success has propelled it to number six on Netflix’s global trending list.
With this rapid rise, Satyam Sundaram is close to surpassing Thalapathy Vijay's The Greatest Of All Time which had 5.6 million views. If it continues to trend the film could also outdo Kamal Haasan’s Indian 2, which has reached 5.3 million views on the platform.
Now, here’s the catch. The OTT platforms have shelled out hundreds of crores on big-ticket films like GOAT, Indian 2, Devara, or even Pushpa. But their viewership is not on par with content-rich films purchased at lower prices, like Satyam Sundaram.
Even the low budget film "Maharaja" of Vijay Sethupathi did similar wonder on OTT attracting more viewership just because of the content.
Moreover, there is no other way for even big-ticket films other than selling their OTT rights at a given price. In this juncture, many OTTs are considering stricter negotiations with high-budget films, as per inside sources.
They may plan to negotiate based on their own break-even points of investment and viewership, rather than the film's budget and the stars involved.
This could bring about a sea change in the economics of the film industry down the line.