The recent hype for Salman Khan's next film Sikandar has put its significant non-theatrical deal of Rs 165 crore in the limelight, which is around 80% of its cost.
The quoted price of its digital rights has been controversial, with reports ranging from Rs 85 crore (can go up to Rs 100 crore depending on box office collection) to Rs 86 crore as a lower figure.
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This imbalance is interesting from the actual profitability perspective of the deal for Salman, particularly against the digital rights of other successes like Pathaan (Rs 100 crore), Jawan (Rs 165 crore), and Dunki (Rs 154 crore).
Critically, the digital worth of Sikandar appears disappointing in view of Salman Khan's status in Bollywood. Though total non-theatrical collections seem phenomenal, digital percentage is moderate, maybe indicating a move towards streaming platforms' pricing when it comes to providing Bollywood films.
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The ultimate figure for the success of the film will be on box office performance, but overall non-theatrical collections are more likely to cross Rs 180 crore if it does well in the box office.
While they created a huge pre-release hype, the difference in valuation of digital rights is a sign that maybe the deal is not as profitable as it was seen to be.
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This might be a sign of a larger trend that will impact future deals for A-listers such as Salman as digital platforms rethink their model of investment in Bollywood.
As the years go by, Sikandar's performance will be a test case for the evolving dynamic between box office success and online ratings.