Theatrical Business Regains Its Lost Glory as OTT Market Is Falling

Article by Kumar Published on: 5:00 pm, 26 July 2026

OTT giant Netflix’s stock has fallen by 42% over the past twelve months. Each share of Netflix used to trade at $126 a year ago, but it is now trading at only $70. What caused this sharp price decline? Why did Netflix stock fall drastically after publishing the last two quarters’ results? While there are many reasons for its downfall, one of the major reasons is Netflix’s inability to come up with a globally popular original movie or web series in the last year or so.

Not just Netflix, the stocks of the majority of streaming platforms have fallen drastically in the last twelve months. Almost every streaming platform is struggling to come up with interesting content that can work with the audience across the world. What does this sharp decline in good content mean for the streaming platforms? How is this decline indirectly helping to revive theatrical business?

Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Money Heist, Dark, Ozark, Sex Education, Stranger Things, Lupin, Emily in Paris, Umbrella Academy and at least fifteen to twenty more web series – During COVID, when people started streaming content on OTT platforms, the above-mentioned shows used to be in the majority of the ‘streaming recommendations’ and ‘watch lists’.

COVID is one reason for people to cut down their visits to theatres to watch movies and the other reason is the amazing shows with out-of-the-box ideas on OTT streaming platforms. When I can watch mind-bending content on streaming platforms at my convenience at home, why would I go to theatres and watch movies that are made half-heartedly with cliched storylines? – Is this the response most people used to give when they were asked why they aren’t watching movies in theatres anymore?

Now, the situation is slowly but steadily changing. People need entertainment to unwind from their busy schedules. The best form of entertainment which people across the globe prefer is to watch movies and shows with friends and family. They may already have watched all the popular shows and most of the available streaming platforms are not producing exciting shows or original movies anymore. So, they now are showing interest in stepping into theatres to watch movies.

It is the reason for an independent film like, Obsession, which was made on a budget around one million US dollars, went onto become a huge blockbuster and collected around five hundred million US dollars worldwide. Not just in Hollywood, but the theatrical business across the world is showing signs of regaining its lost glory. People are coming to theatres in good numbers now and slowly starting to like the community viewing experience yet again.

We can see those signs of improvement in theatrical business in Telugu states as well. Since June, the reversal in the fortunes of theatrical business is very visible. Peddi, Maa Inti Bangaram, Lenin, Chennai Love Story, Obsession, The Odyssey, Blast and even Nagabandham to an extent – all these movies in the last two months were able to pull audiences into the theatres again.

The houseful boards in front of the theatres are back now and it is very encouraging sign for the exhibitors, distributors and everyone involved. It is now up to the producers and directors to come up with good films to sustain this momentum. The star heroes should find ways to finish shooting their movies quickly and release at least one or two films a year. Releasing notable films at regular intervals in theatres is the need of the hour now to sustain the momentum gained by theatrical business in the last few months.