Why the agreement between Aamir Khan and Netflix for Laal Singh Chaddha broke

Aamir Khan’s film Laal Singh Chaddha was released last Thursday, August 11. Kareena Kapoor Khan appeared in the Forrest Gump adaptation directed by Advait Chandan. Given the ads, excitement, and anticipation around the film, trade estimates suggested that Laal Singh Chaddha would have a successful debut. The audience anxiously awaited the movie, expected to be the biggest money generator of the year. Contrary to expectations, Laal Singh Chaddha’s first day was less than outstanding, with just Rs. 11.70 crores in revenue. The film’s business stalled during the weekend, and its first weekend takings totaled Rs. 37.96 cr.

However, before the movie’s debut, Aamir Khan was negotiating to sell the digital rights with OTT streaming giant Netflix away from the unrest of the box office. Although the two sides had made progress in their negotiations, the deal ultimately fell through. Finally, Bollywood Hungama has uncovered the factors that led to the termination of the contract between Aamir Khan and Netflix.

Aamir Khan is negotiating Laal Singh Chaddha’s digital rights at an outrageous price. According to a source who spills the beans exclusively to Bollywood Hungama, “Aamir Khan was eager to feature Laal Singh Chaddha on Netflix. He desired the worldwide exposure the movie would receive from the vast streaming service, which has over 200 million customers. Additionally, given the audience profiles of Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ Hotstar, Netflix’s target population couldn’t match exactly what Aamir Khan was searching for.

Aamir initiated negotiations with a sizeable demand of Rs. 150 crores, citing his success at the box office and track record. Furthermore, Aamir stipulated that the film would be released on Netflix six months after its theatrical release. The insider adds that Netflix “tried all they could” to get the actor to give up and lower the cost and separation between the theatrical and OTT releases. They were ready to offer anything from 80 to 90 crores. The actor insisted on seeing the film released in China. Therefore he was emphatic about the price and the timeline. Then Netflix presented a 50-crore rupee offer.

Aamir insisted on charging 125 crores for the film, which Netflix considered too much for the digital rights. Aamir was sure that Laal Singh Chaddha would bring in 300 crores of rupees at the Indian box office. If an arrangement could not be struck before the film’s premiere, he thought Netflix would return to the table after its release. Netflix, however, decided against continuing and left the conversation.

Currently, Netflix is not interested in buying the rights due to the film’s terrible box office results. No other OTT platform would be ready to pay to host this catastrophe on its network, either.