Streaming Video News: August 16, 2018

I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with the addition of Bhavesh Joshi Superhero, one of my favorite Hindi films of the year so far. If you’ve already finished Sacred Games, you need to check out Bhavesh Joshi Superhero, since Vikramaditya Motwane directed both.

The big news from Amazon today — and no, it’s not the addition of the Hindi-dubbed version of the 2014 Tamil film Sooran to Prime — is that the online retailer is in the running to buy the Landmark theater chain. It’s an interesting proposition, and not unexpected, since Netflix has also explored buying physical theaters as a way to showcase their original productions.

I’m not sure that the purchase would have any effect on Amazon’s Indian content, since they’re currently only producing original series and comedy specials, not one-off movies. Landmark has theaters in just fifty locations, so even if Amazon wanted to make joint deals for both streaming and distribution, the chain could only accommodate smaller releases like Pari, Missing, or Blackmail. Then again, this could open up new venues for movies that would otherwise bypass American theaters and head straight to streaming, such as Angrezi Mein Kehte Hain, Hate Story 4, or Vodka Diaries. Even then, Landmark’s theaters are in fixed locations that may not be near the population that regularly watches Indian films, which means reaching out to a brand new demographic — something I’d like to see happen, but that may not make much business sense.

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