For pay (SVOD) streaming platforms, theatrical films continue to be a key driver of customer acquisition. Insights from our Ormax Stream Track reports reveal that theatrical films consistently outscore originals on Potency, a metric that captures the ability of a piece of content to attract new subscribers. But acquiring theatrical film rights can be costly, and platforms often prefer to deploy their content budgets in creating IPs they own. However, the undeniable audience pull of theatrical films makes this content category difficult to overlook.

So, which streaming platforms have a stronger presence in the theatrical films category, and how does the platform distribution mix of theatrical films on streaming impact both the streaming and theatrical industries? Here’s an analysis.

Methodology

This analysis looks at 126 theatrical films across all languages, with domestic footfalls of 1 million or more. For each of these films, the OTT platform where the film is currently available for streaming in India was identified. Films available on multiple platforms were attributed equally to them, e.g., an attribution of 0.5 each if a film is streaming on two platforms. The analysis that follows reports the share of various streaming platforms based on this methodology.

All India

The chart below illustrates the platform share of all 126 titles.

Netflix is the clear leader, with 36% share. JioHotstar, Prime Video and ZEE5, in that order also witness double-digit shares. In a similar analysis conducted last year (read here) for Hindi, Telugu and Tamil theatrical films released between 2022 and 2024, Netflix and Prime Video dominated, while no other platform crossed the 15% share mark in any of the three language. From that duopolistic scenario, the streaming rights market for theatrical films seems more balanced in 2025, with JioHotstar and ZEE5 making their presence felt.

Language Differences

The chart below displays the share for Hindi and the four South languages combined, based on the original language of the film. These five languages accounted for 109 out of the 126 titles.

Netflix's dominance in Hindi continues to become more emphatic with each passing year, with 57% share in 2025, up from 50% in 2024. The South languages market is more keenly contested, with JioHotstar, ZEE5 and Prime Video all emerging as strong players.

JioHotstar's overall share of 21% benefits from of its virtual monopoly in International titles. 13 International films crossed the 1 Mn footfalls mark theatrically in India in 2025, of which 12 have been considered for analysis, as one title is currently not available for streaming in India. 10 of these 12 can be streamed on JioHotstar in India, i.e., a share of 83%.

Summary

There are at least four major platforms in contention for streaming right, especially for South films. This creates a more competitive marketplace, which augurs well for film producers and studios, who are bound to regain some of the negotiating power they seemed to have lost in the last two years because of a duopolistic market. However, the Hindi market does not see the same level of interest from multiple players, possibly because of the higher price point it operates at. As result, the dependence of the Hindi film industry on Netflix seems to increase with each passing year.