Have OTT Platforms Killed the Excitement of First Day First Shows in Tamil Nadu?

Film distributor Tirupur Subramaniam remembers a time in the 1980s when films would run in theatres for half a year. “In 1989, ‘Karakattakkaran’ ran in theatres for 200 days,” he says.Cut to 2025, when Mani Ratnam’s ‘Thug Life’ barely huffed past two weeks at the box office. “It’s not unusual today for a film to have a box office life of three or four days,” says Subramaniam. “Films are released across 90 screens, unlike earlier when there were fewer theatres, so the concept of a 100-day run is gone.”

With traditions such as the ‘paal abishekam’ fading from the scene and opening shows pushed from 4am to 9am, Tamil Nadu’s first day first show too is no longer the phenomenon it used to be.

“People would sleep outside theatres, celebrate through the night, sing, dance and burst crackers,” says Nikilesh Surya, director of operations at Rohini Theatres in Chennai. “Now they only show up in time for the show.”Back then, 100-day milestones were grand affairs, celebrated with song and dance shows, and posters plastered across city walls. “Success meets” are today held within just 10 days of a film’s release, often in closed rooms, and attended only by those closely involved in the film’s making.

If you are out of town for a week, you might even miss a movie’s theatre run entirely. OTT platforms are changing the way films are released and consumed. Milestones such as the 100-day run have been replaced by Top 10 tags online, highlighting a shift in how films are marketed and consumed. Actor Suriya’s next, for instance, directed by Venky Atluri, sold its OTT rights for `85 crore even before shooting began. Earlier, says Surya, there were just two to three big screens in Chennai, and major films ran for 100 days.

“Now, we have hundreds of screens, and most films cover their audience in the first two to three days. So long runs are unrealistic.” Industry veterans say the shift is inevitable, some even say healthy, but others worry it may mark the end of a cinematic era. Producer, distributor and stage drama veteran S Shivpprasadh says the concept of hero worship is also fading, but admits he is one of those who won’t really miss it.

“Director K Balachander’s 1973 ‘Arangetram’ was a trendsetter in the 1970s as it cast a host of newcomers in a film about a young woman taking to prostitution to support her family, at a time when matinee idols Sivaji Ganesan and MGR were calling the shots. It’s time for a new wave in the industry, he says.

The producer says that Balachander’s female-oriented and middle-class subjects were a refreshing change on screen.

“If we want to bring back audiences to theatres, we need change. It is good if big stars are taking a step back. In Kerala, scripts have become more relatable, and so the audience for Malayalam cinema has grown.”Surya says smaller films are doing surprisingly well in Tamil too. ‘Tourist Family’ ran for seven weeks, while big-star films such as ‘Thug Life’ lasted just two. “The audience wants quality, not just star power, these days.”Producers are still hopeful that superstar Rajinikanth will pull crowds for ‘Coolie’ when it releases on Aug 14, as will Kamal Haasan’s ‘Vikram 2’ , as those are the only two big names with movies in the pipeline. The other first day first show crowd-puller, Vijay, has announced he is quitting films and entering politics full-time after ‘Janayagan’ in Jan 2026. Ajith Kumar launched a racing team and has limited releases to a couple a year.“The concept of first day first show has lost its spark,” says Abilesh R, administrator of Tamil Nadu Vijay Fans Club Online (Instagram). “Earlier, the rivalry between Vijay and Ajith made the first shows electric. In 2023, when ‘Varisu’ and ‘Thunivu’ were released on the same day, fans tried to outdo each other with cakes and crackers. We hoped Simbu and Dhanush would take that legacy forward, but it didn’t happen. Simbu took a backseat, and Dhanush focused on Bollywood and Hollywood.

” Abilesh adds that when first show timings changed from 4am to 9am in 2023, excitement levels dropped. “Hardcore fans started travelling to Karnataka and Kerala for the earlier shows,” says the 20-year-old.Surya says the frenzy started mellowing after the death of a fan during the first day first show of ‘Thunivu’. “Rules have been tightened since then. Police presence is stronger at theatres when a big star’s film releases.”With crowds thinning, theatre owners have now begun redefining the spaces for nostalgia and fan events. Directors have also caught on to the power of nostalgia, recycling old references, dialogues and songs (usually Ilaiyaraaja’s) into newer movies. “We have found that sometimes re-releases earn more than new films. ‘Ghilli’, which was re-released in 2024, and ‘Sachien’ in March had good runs at the box office,” says Surya.

“We re-released ‘Vada Chennai’ for the third time since its first release in 2018 on Dhanush’s birthday (July 28), and it’s been running for three weeks now. Now, it’s nostalgia that brings people to theatres.”Ramesh, president of TN film exhibitors association, says the topic of discussion in the industry for the past couple of years has been on how to “break the jinx” of thinning crowds at theatres. “Maybe, heroes should come forward to do more films in a year,” he says, but adds that he does not think it is a surefire solution.Some fans are still gung-ho about celebrating the first day first show. ‘Golden’ Saravanan who started the Golden Star Rajini Fan Club in 1989 in Madurai, says the first Rajinikanth film he saw was ‘Annai Oru Aalayam’ in 1979. Since then, the fan club has been staging performances during film openings. “In 1999, for ‘Padayappa’, we brought a vel (a divine spear) to the theatre. For ‘Jailer’ (2023), we dressed as convicts.

For ‘Coolie’ on Aug 14, we’ll pull a chariot with a film reel box through the streets of Madurai. That reel is sacred. It carries Rajini like a deity,” says the 51-year-old. The club is planning an ‘angapradakshanam’ and wearing silver amulets for luck. “The first day first show buzz is still there but muted,” says Surya. “Sivakarthikeyan may still draw some excitement and people, but overall, we don’t see the frenzy that we did before.”Email your feedback with name and address to [email protected]