Kamal Haasan doubles down on eight-week theatrical window for ‘Thug Life’: We hope others will observe

Silambarasan TR and Kamal Haasan in ‘Thug Life’.

The eight-week window between the theatrical and OTT releases of Thug Life is a ‘pragmatic’ determination useful to all stakeholders, actor-producer Kamal Haasan mentioned at a trailer showcase in Mumbai on Tuesday (Might 20, 2025) night. 

Thug Life—a splashy, emotional gangster drama—reunites Kamal together with his Nayakan director Mani Ratnam. The duo is collaborating on a movie after 36 years. Co-starring Silambarasan TR, Trisha Krishnan and several other others, Thug Life is slated for launch in theatres on June 5. It would stream on Netflix following the eight-week holdback interval. 

“It’s not even an experiment however the pragmatic factor to do,” mentioned Kamal, who has produced Thug Life beneath his banner Raaj Kamal Movies Worldwide together with Ratnam’s Madras Talkies and Udhayanidhi Stalin’s Crimson Big Films. 

Whereas the eight-week hole is cited as a distribution norm, many motion pictures because the pandemic have opted for dynamic windowing, ending up on OTT wherever between 4 to eight weeks. As an illustration, the upcoming Hindi movie Bhool Chuk Maaf, following a authorized dispute and a settlement, will probably be out there on Prime Video simply two weeks after its theatrical launch on Might 23. 

“I’m glad the OTT companions sat down with us and agreed. It wasn’t a negotiation; it was a plan. We hope others can observe this and it’ll make the trade wholesome,” Kamal, 70, mentioned. 

Earlier, Allu Arjun’s megahit Pushpa 2: The Rule additionally premiered on Netflix after finishing its eight-week unique run in theatres. 

Kamal and Mani Ratnam graced the occasion in Mumbai alongside STR, Ashok Selvan, Trisha Krishnan, Abhirami and music maestro AR Rahman. 

Kamal appeared again on the days of capturing of Nayakan in Mumbai within the late 80s. “We had been within the Colaba space (in South Bombay) and director Ramesh Sippy was capturing in Movie Metropolis. We had some pictures to be accomplished in Movie Metropolis so all of us went to see the capturing of Mr. Ramesh Sippy. We’re, in the end, movie buffs. That’s the qualification that has introduced us right here.”