Leo's OTT deal is the biggest for a South Indian movie, confirms producer Lalit Kumar

Lalit revealed that Netflix has made its biggest investment yet in the southern cinema by buying the digital rights of Leo, starring Thalapathy Vijay.

Lalit Kumar with Thalapathy Vijay

Thalapathy Vijay's latest movie Leo has made quite a dent at the box office. Recently, producer Lalit Kumar of Seven Screen Studio has also revealed the movie's record-breaking deal with its streaming partner, Netflix.

Lalit revealed that the streaming giant has made its biggest investment yet in the southern cinema by buying the digital rights of Leo. "Netflix paid the highest price for Leo. Not just Tamil movies, Netflix didn't buy any other South Indian language movie at this price," revealed Lalit.

This strategic move seems to reflect Netflix's efforts to expand its footprint among audiences in the southern states. The streaming platform has been striving to establish a stronger presence in India, particularly among cost-conscious consumers in the South.

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"This is a a new venture for them. It's an experiment of sorts. They were very interested. I quoted them a price, and they made a counter-offer. Finally, we both settled on a number. I think this venture will be profitable for Netflix, considering the worldwide reach of Leo," Lalit added.

The sale of streaming rights has become a vital revenue stream for producers to recover the cost. The pre-release deals with the OTT platforms also allow the producers to make bigger investments. According to industry sources, the revenue from digital rights often covers up to 50 percent of a movie's production cost . In fact, the income generated from streaming rights now surpasses the revenue from selling satellite rights for films across the nation.

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In the meantime, Leo has done extremely well in ticket sales during its first week. The movie is said to have grossed over Rs 500 crore from its worldwide ticket sales and is expected to remain a strong draw across cinemas till the end of the Diwali holiday.

According to reports, Leo is set to become available for streaming on Netflix after completing four weeks of theatrical run. And official conformation of Leo's OTT release is awaited.

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