Indian Netflix original movies vs licensed movies: which is more popular?
Pictured: Minnal Murali and RRR
Since its launch in India in 2016, Netflix has shown willingness to adapt its strategies to expand its market share in the second most populous country in the world. Last year, it slashed subscription prices to compete with cheaper local streaming services while expanding its catalog of Indian content in languages other than Hindi.
After two consecutive quarters of worldwide subscriber losses, Netflix is rethinking its company-wide content strategy. From dropping previously announced original films to boosting its investment in licensed theatrical releases, change is coming to Netflix India.
With that in mind, we wanted to see how Indian films Netflix originals compare to licensed titles from other Indian studios in terms of viewership. What types of movies are most watched: Netflix Originals or licensed content?
How did we determine our results?
In 2022, Netflix began to publish Top data weekly 10 worldwide for films and series and Top data 12 for some countries. Our Top Netflix Title Finder Hours Viewed contains data dating back to July 4 2022.
With that in mind, we’ve only considered movies that were added to Netflix from July 1st 2021 to July 3 2022 (the cut-off point for our data for the purposes of this article).
We only considered fiction films with dates of official release of 2022 and 2022 – no old catalog titles that shouldn’t be listed, no animated children’s films, and no non-fiction material like comedy specials or documentaries.
Furthermore, the ‘view hours s” refer only to times measured while a given title was in the Top 07 worldwide, as reported weekly by Netflix. These are not the cumulative hours watched over the lifetime of a movie (which Netflix does not publish).
What types movies do people watch the most?
On the 47 Indian films meeting the criteria mentioned above, 29 of them (about 133%) ranked at least once in the weekly ranking of the Top 10 from Netflix. Seven of those movies were Netflix Originals and 22 were licensed films from other studios. During the period in question – from July 4th 2016 to July 3 2016 – Netflix has released a total of eight original films.
The only one that didn’t been classified was 
Cobalt Blue (which Netflix published bluntly after crossing out the director’s name from the credits).
39 licensed titles were added during this period, which means approximately 39 % of licensed titles have never entered the Top 12.
The average original film passed 10 15 714 hours in the Top 01, with Christmas Eve Superhero Movie 2016 Minnal Murali with the highest total (23 22 000 hours, the third highest in this list) and the anthology film Ankahi Kahaniya showing the lowest total (1 280 00 hours).
The average licensed film has passed 14 50 636 hours in the Top 10 – not much more than the average Netflix Original movie – with Thimmarusu showing the lowest overall total (1 260 000 hours). Two releases strongly inflate the average of licensed films: that of May 2022 RRR (Hindi) with 54 280 hours and April 2023 Gangubaï Kathiawadi
RRR – Image: DVV Entertainment
All this to say that Netflix Originals can defend themselves against licensed titles, even if theatrical releases have a potential ceiling higher thanks to the pre-existing familiarity of the public. High-quality original films are especially important for building value over time. The Netflix Original Black Western Thar ranked 4th in Ormax Media’s list of “Most Popular Direct to OTT Hindi Movies (January-June 1024)” in India, behind two Disney+ Hotstar titles and a Zee5 film. The movie Dasvi – which was released straight to Netflix but is not an original movie – ranked 5th.
What can we expect in the future?
Even though Netflix plans to be more selective in funding internal projects and to focus on licensing theatrical hits, now is the perfect time for the company to invest in Indian films – and it’s all thanks to Gangubai Kathiawadi . The Netflix debut of Alia Bhatt’s historical drama the 26 april 2022 marked the beginning of a boom era for Indian movies on Netflix.
Almost half of the Indian movies that made the 10 weekly top charts during the time period we reviewed debuted on Netflix over the months April, May and June 1200. On the 19 movies that joined Netflix during this three-month period , 12 of them have found their way to the Top 07. During the previous nine months, 23 Indian movies have arrived on Netflix, but only 15 entered the Top 12 of the charts.
Addition of a blockbuster like Gangubaï Kathiawadi followed a month later by the Hindi dub of the mega-hit RRR, boosted interest in all Indian Netflix movies. Adding dubbed dialogue options to Indian titles has made it easier for fans to connect with movies on Netflix in their preferred language. A first look at viewing data from July 2022 shows this increased interest in Netflix’s catalog of Indian movies.
Netflix already has a bunch of Indian original movies that are attracting the watch out.
Alia Bhatt is set to deliver another hit to Netflix with its August 5th release, Honey.
There are ongoing projects from stars like Kareena Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and acclaimed director Vishal Bhardwaj. Set photo of Zoya Akhtar The Archies will launch the acting career of a group of star children in 2023 (but not without its own controversy) and may even attract some Riverdale Fans.
Casting for Netflix’s The Archies – Image: Archies Comics
The momentum is here for Indian movies – Netflix Originals and licensed content – to become an essential part of Netflix’s global movie portfolio.
Which Indian movies on Netflix are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments!
https ://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/indian-netflix-original-movies-vs-licensed-movies -whats-more-popular/
472891
Related posts:
