Bollywood continued to dominate OTT platforms

Bollywood continued to dominate the OTT this year as Indian audiences watched a wide range of films on it from classics like Amitabh Bachchan's Don and Raj Kapoor's Mera Naam Joker to Aamir Khan-fronted Sarfarosh and Sanjay Dutt's Munna Bhai MBBS — with a strong focus on post-2000 Hindi blockbusters. 

It reflected growing preference for legacy films and restored classics. This trend was mentioned in ‘The Ultra Media OTT Insights Report 2025', which offered a comprehensive, data-led view of how Indian audiences consumed digital content this year.   Ultra Media & Entertainment Group released this report.

According to it, era-wise consumption patterns in 2025 favoured post-2000 Hindi blockbusters, which emerged as the strongest performers on Hindi-language OTT platform Ultra Play, capturing the largest audience share and driving the highest engagement metrics, including watch time and completion rates.

Films from the 1990s followed closely, delivering strong viewership retention and repeat consumption, while classics from the 1950s to the 1970s continued to attract loyal audiences.

Within the classic Hindi cinema segment of pre-1980, Don, Amar Prem, Bobby, Aradhana and Mera Naam Joker emerged as the five most-watched titles on Ultra Play in 2025, consistently outperforming other catalogue films.

Among films from the 1990s and early 2000s are Munna Bhai MBBS, Andaz Apna Apna, Tezaab, Sarfarosh, Koi Mil Gaya, Khalnayak, Karan Arjun and Ghayal, which delivered the highest watch time and strongest repeat viewing, according to the report.

Restored titles such as Rangeela and Sarfarosh outperformed comparable mainstream catalogue films, delivering above-expected engagement and strong completion rates, the report said, adding that other restored films, including Half Ticket, Pyaasa, and Pardes, also contributed to the catalogue.

The report further stated that classic film consumption is no longer limited to older viewers. Younger audiences, particularly Gen Z, were discovering legacy cinema. This shift signals a widening audience base for classic content, transforming nostalgia into first-time viewing rather than mere revisitation.

The report also reveals strong pan-India engagement led by metros such as Delhi and Mumbai, followed by Pune, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Patna. Viewership across regions showed a clear preference for post-2000 blockbusters, action-thrillers, South Indian dubbed films and legacy Hindi cinema.

Demographically, the audience skewed young and male, with an 80:20 male-female ratio, and nearly 70 per cent of total viewership coming from audiences below 44 years, led by the 18 to 24 age group, the report added. From a growth standpoint, Ultra Play recorded 250 per cent year-on-year growth in 2025, supported by the addition of over 700 new titles, and festive-period consumption surged by nearly 300 per cent.

Sushilkumar Agrawal, CEO, Ultra Media & Entertainment Group, said the data reflects the growing love of audiences for “legacy films and restored classics.”

“This year's data makes clear that audiences don't see cinema in eras-they see stories. Whether it's revisiting the emotional depth of ‘Amar Prem', the romance of ‘Bobby', the cultural imprint of Don or the timeless scale of Mera Naam Joker, legacy films, when restored, curated and presented right, can compete head-to-head with modern blockbusters. That belief has guided Ultra for decades, and 2025 only strengthened it,” Agrawal said in a statement.

Rajat Agrawal, COO & Director, said they've always aimed to have a bouquet of great stories. “Ultra's journey mirrors the evolution of Indian content consumption itself from the VHS era to television, digital syndication and now OTT. What has remained constant through every phase is our focus on owning, preserving and monetising great stories,” he said.

In terms of their subscriber base, Ultra expects continued momentum with numbers projected to cross 5,00,000 by 2026 and one million by 2027 and with platform upgrades including smoother navigation, offline viewing, multi-device access and enhanced streaming quality, they are expecting to further strengthen engagement and retention of audiences, the release said.