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'The Diplomat': How OTTs Turned Down The Film—and the Sweet Box-Office Weekend that John Abraham Delivered
John Abraham's 'The Diplomat' released on Holi after an arduous journey to get a theatrical outing.
When The Diplomat quietly released last Friday, the energy around the film was that of surprise. Dropped in cinemas with virtually no promotions, the John Abraham drama thriller had managed to generate good word-of-mouth buzz, which many didn't anticipate due to the low-key campaign. A day later, when the opening day figures trickled in, there was more surprise in store: The Diplomat had taken a start of ₹4.03 crores, higher than all the Hindi films released this year except for Chhaava, Sky Force, and just a crore shy of Deva, the heavily-promoted Shahid Kapoor-starrer.
The Diplomat made the most of the Holi holiday on day one and glided on the momentum for the weekend as it clocked ₹4.68 crores and ₹4.74 crores over the next two days, taking the total to over ₹13 crore. It was a sweet victory for the Shivam Nair directorial, especially in the context of the film's arduous journey to just get a release in cinemas.
According to multiple industry sources The Hollywood Reporter India spoke to,The Diplomat was on the waiting list for a theatrical release, as streaming platforms were not keen to buy the film.
A well-placed production source shared, "The film was rejected by OTT platforms, which failed to recognise its potential. Typically, productions secure music, satellite, and streaming rights before a theatrical release. But The Diplomat faced a roadblock as streamers declined to acquire it. Ironically, the film resonated with ticket-buying audiences, who appreciated its quality — a fact that OTT platforms had overlooked."
The Diplomat is produced by Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar (T-Series), John Abraham (JA Entertainment), Vipul D Shah, Ashwin Varde, Rajesh Bahl (Wakaoo Films), and Sameer Dixit, Jatish Varma, Rakesh Dang (Fortune Pictures/Seeta Films).
According to sources, The Diplomat was eventually sold at a cheaper price as part of a bulk deal by the production house, making way for its theatrical release. After a good weekend, however, the film dipped and has now minted a little over ₹16 crores total.
"But if you look at the weekend, the potential of the film is clear. To clock in those numbers purely on word-of-mouth signalled some sort of acceptance. The film couldn't sustain the trend, as the numbers came down on Monday, but that opens up a larger discussion on marketing and promotions and whether enough awareness was created for the target audience," the source said.
"A lot of it can also be traced back to the buying market of streamers. If the OTTs show no interest, the team feels they have perhaps not made a good enough film. That lack of confidence then reflects in everything: the asset, the marketing, the strategy and even the release size. The Diplomat is an example of that. The disparity between what the OTTs rejected and what the audience almost accepted was never so apparent in the mainstream space," the source added.
Also starring Sadia Khateeb, the film is set against the backdrop of India–Pakistan relations. The Diplomat is now competing at the box-office with Chhaava and hopes to pack in more numbers till the release of Salman Khan's Sikandar, in the last week of March.