Box Office at stake: Vishwambhara struggles to seal OTT deal, delaying release & risking prime holiday window!

Chiranjeevi's much-anticipated fantasy film Vishwambhara faces delays, struggling to lock an OTT deal and risking a prime holiday release window amidst tough competition

Written by Shanaz Syed , Journalist

Published on Mar 04, 2025 | 07:28 PM IST | 6.8K

credit: Chiranjeevi Instagram

Tollywood's most celebrated star, the Megastar Chiranjeevi’s much-anticipated fantasy entertainer Vishwambhara is currently caught in a tricky situation, with its release plans hanging in the balance as per the reports. Originally slated to hit theatres for Sankranthi 2025, the film had to back out of the festival race for unknown reasons. While the team unofficially cited delayed VFX work as the reason, the real challenge goes beyond just post-production hurdles, say insiders now.

So, what's the biggest hurdle right now? Vishwambara's OTT deal is still not locked! And in today’s era, a solid OTT partner plays a crucial role not only in revenue but also in shaping a film’s release strategy and overall buzz. Unfortunately, after Bholaa Shankar’s disappointing box office run, streaming platforms seem cautious about betting big on Chiranjeevi’s next.

Also, Vishwambhara's teaser that dropped couple of months ago has failed to create the kind of viral buzz one expects from a Megastar film. Adding to the woes, the visual effects in the teaser faced huge criticism for its subpar quality, raising questions about the film’s visual grandeur, like it happened in the case of Prabhas' Adipurush earlier.

Not just small and medium-budget films, even these big-ticket ventures are now feeling the heat from streaming platforms. Currently, Vishwambhara’s makers are still negotiating with Zee5 after talks with Netflix reportedly fell through at the last moment. With multiple big films eyeing prime release windows and holiday slots, the delay in locking the OTT deal is proving to be a major headache for the team.

That said, the OTT market itself has turned challenging. Amazon Prime and Netflix are now extremely selective, preferring films from banners they already have long-term deals with. Zee5 is picking only certain titles, while Aha is sticking to smaller projects with performance-based deals linked to views. This changing landscape has put Vishwambhara in a tough spot.

Mega fans, however, are still hopeful. They believe if Chiranjeevi’s collaboration with director Anil Ravipudi—expected to start later this year—gets strong buzz, it could help lift the brand value of Vishwambhara as well.

Directed by Mallidi Vassishta who has carved out Kalyan Ram's Bimbisara earlier and produced by UV Creations, Vishwambhara also stars Trisha Krishnan as the leading lady, Kunal Kapoor as the antagonist and other starlets like Meenakshi Chaudhary, and Ashika Ranganath. Despite its impressive cast and a promising fantasy backdrop, the film’s current struggles highlight how even the biggest stars are no longer immune to OTT-driven market realities.

All eyes are now on how the makers navigate this tricky box office and OTT puzzle to get Vishwambhara back on track!