Bollywood budgets more for pre-release blitzkrieg

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The lifespan of movies at multiplexes is getting shorter. Realising this, Bollywood producers are increasing the pre-release marketing budgets of movies as well as devising multiple promotional strategies to ensure they break even at a faster pace.

Producers, for instance, are now taking to multiple pre-release promotions for movies where every person in the film becomes a part of the marketing plan. Consider this. Amitabh Bachhan spent only 15 days on the shoot of Rann but the movie was promoted for one-and-a half months before release.

Likewise, 3Idiots — which spent around Rs 15 crore on promotions, and ended up grossing over Rs 300 crore at the box office — had Aamir Khan on a promotion-spree. 3Idiots exploited every possible marketing options, from online release of the film, association with insurance products to Sachin Tendulkar endorsing the film, which put the movie among the most successfully marketed and promoted films of recent times. As part of another innovation, stickers reading “Capacity: 3 Idiots” were pasted on the back of 10,000 auto rickshaws as it is the most popular mode for commuting and works as a wonderful reminder medium.

However, the success of a film’s promotional campaign is reflected in the first three days’ box office collection. “Earlier, movies had a chance to revive themselves once they clicked with audiences. Now, producers do not get so much time. Movies these days make money mostly in the first two weeks of their release. So pre-marketing has become more important to ensure at least a good opening week,” explains Jehil Thakkar, entertainment analyst with KPMG.

Around 10 per cent of a Hindi movie’s budget is spent on pre-release promotions and marketing. While this is likely to increase up to 20-30 per cent for big-budget movies, low-budget movies may look at investing as much money on pre-release marketing as it would on the entire movie, according to Rohini Iyer, managing director, Raindrop Media. She points out that in Hollywood, around 30-40 per cent of a movie’s budget is for promotions. “Bollywood producers are now increasing marketing budget with every new film as they try to be at par with their Hollywood counterparts,” she adds.

While advertising a movie would need a couple of crores, promoting it through using the star-cast and songs gives any Hindi movie the necessary publicity at minimal expense. Marketing strategies now include social networking, co-branding, special events and special appearances.

Take the case of the recently-released Rajneeti. Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif have been on a run, hosting debates christened Aaj ki Rajneeti in several colleges. The rallies discuss political and social topics concerning youth. Following Rahul Gandhi’s footsteps, Ranbir Kapoor, clad in a white kurta, travelled in a local train in Mumbai to interact with the aam aadmi. “Since Rajneeti is a hardcore political thriller, a special video has been shot to promote the movie featuring the star cast singing the national anthem,” says Shikha Kapur, senior vice-president of marketing, UTV Motion Pictures.

Going by the buzz the move has created, brand experts are calling it “disruptive marketing” at its best. “The idea is to integrate the movie with every aspect of a common man’s life, and also create awareness on various issues amongst the youth,” says Kapur. Other success stories include the promotion of Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani. The movie, which alloted Rs 10 crore on promotions alone, was hyped as the first movie to use the Ranvir Kapoor-Katrina Kaif on screen chemistry.

Thakkar of KPMG underscores a point when he says: “The marketing budget of Hindi movies is expected to increase to even 100 per cent, especially for small-budget movies because these do not enjoy the star power or a guaranteed viewership which could make a producer feel secure.”

However, analysts point out that producers need to be careful with promotional campaigns as they need to be relevant. Iyer of Raindrop Media cautions: “For instance, for the movie Dulha Mil Gaya, Shah Rukh Khan was roped in who heavily promoted the movie through various songs. But it was Fardeen Khan’s movie and so Khan’s promotions fell flat and the movie was a flop.”

Bollywood budgets more for pre-release blitzkrieg

LINK

The lifespan of movies at multiplexes is getting shorter. Realising this, Bollywood producers are increasing the pre-release marketing budgets of movies as well as devising multiple promotional strategies to ensure they break even at a faster pace.

Producers, for instance, are now taking to multiple pre-release promotions for movies where every person in the film becomes a part of the marketing plan. Consider this. Amitabh Bachhan spent only 15 days on the shoot of Rann but the movie was promoted for one-and-a half months before release.

Likewise, 3Idiots — which spent around Rs 15 crore on promotions, and ended up grossing over Rs 300 crore at the box office — had Aamir Khan on a promotion-spree. 3Idiots exploited every possible marketing options, from online release of the film, association with insurance products to Sachin Tendulkar endorsing the film, which put the movie among the most successfully marketed and promoted films of recent times. As part of another innovation, stickers reading “Capacity: 3 Idiots” were pasted on the back of 10,000 auto rickshaws as it is the most popular mode for commuting and works as a wonderful reminder medium.

However, the success of a film’s promotional campaign is reflected in the first three days’ box office collection. “Earlier, movies had a chance to revive themselves once they clicked with audiences. Now, producers do not get so much time. Movies these days make money mostly in the first two weeks of their release. So pre-marketing has become more important to ensure at least a good opening week,” explains Jehil Thakkar, entertainment analyst with KPMG.

Around 10 per cent of a Hindi movie’s budget is spent on pre-release promotions and marketing. While this is likely to increase up to 20-30 per cent for big-budget movies, low-budget movies may look at investing as much money on pre-release marketing as it would on the entire movie, according to Rohini Iyer, managing director, Raindrop Media. She points out that in Hollywood, around 30-40 per cent of a movie’s budget is for promotions. “Bollywood producers are now increasing marketing budget with every new film as they try to be at par with their Hollywood counterparts,” she adds.

While advertising a movie would need a couple of crores, promoting it through using the star-cast and songs gives any Hindi movie the necessary publicity at minimal expense. Marketing strategies now include social networking, co-branding, special events and special appearances.

Take the case of the recently-released Rajneeti. Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif have been on a run, hosting debates christened Aaj ki Rajneeti in several colleges. The rallies discuss political and social topics concerning youth. Following Rahul Gandhi’s footsteps, Ranbir Kapoor, clad in a white kurta, travelled in a local train in Mumbai to interact with the aam aadmi. “Since Rajneeti is a hardcore political thriller, a special video has been shot to promote the movie featuring the star cast singing the national anthem,” says Shikha Kapur, senior vice-president of marketing, UTV Motion Pictures.

Going by the buzz the move has created, brand experts are calling it “disruptive marketing” at its best. “The idea is to integrate the movie with every aspect of a common man’s life, and also create awareness on various issues amongst the youth,” says Kapur. Other success stories include the promotion of Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani. The movie, which alloted Rs 10 crore on promotions alone, was hyped as the first movie to use the Ranvir Kapoor-Katrina Kaif on screen chemistry.

Thakkar of KPMG underscores a point when he says: “The marketing budget of Hindi movies is expected to increase to even 100 per cent, especially for small-budget movies because these do not enjoy the star power or a guaranteed viewership which could make a producer feel secure.”

However, analysts point out that producers need to be careful with promotional campaigns as they need to be relevant. Iyer of Raindrop Media cautions: “For instance, for the movie Dulha Mil Gaya, Shah Rukh Khan was roped in who heavily promoted the movie through various songs. But it was Fardeen Khan’s movie and so Khan’s promotions fell flat and the movie was a flop.”

Multiplex Killed the Single-Screen Cinema-Goer

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The man who brought the multiplex to India says he misses the old days when everyone shared one, big, tattered screen.

The scourge of multi-screen theaters that have spread in the last decade has brought the middle-class back to movie theaters but has also hurt the industry, said entertainment entrepreneur Manmohan Shetty. Mr. Shetty opened India’s first multiplex in Mumbai in 2000 through his company Adlabs Films (which is now part of the Anil Ambani empire and renamed Reliance MediaWorks.)

The fancy, expensive new theaters and the movies on their screens have ignored the country’s biggest movie fans who happen to have small salaries, said Mr. Shetty.

“Multiplexes have killed the industry,” Mr. Shetty told India Real Time on the sidelines of an event during the International Indian Film Academy weekend in Colombo, Sri Lanka. “We shouldn’t have forgotten the people on the bottom.”

While the multiplexes have upgraded the movie watching experience in Indian cities, they have also made it more expensive and exclusive. Movie makers are now aiming their content increasingly at the middle-class movie-goer even though they represent only a minority of viewers in India.

Mr. Shetty points to box office receipts in southern Indian which has fewer multiplexes and more movies aimed squarely at the movie-mad masses. As much as three-fourths of all the movie revenues in India come from that area of the country, he said. “In South India they didn’t break the pattern,” he said.

Tamil actor Rajnikanth is still a superstar at 60. He rules the South and has mass appeal because his films are fun. In old, single-screen theaters in Chennai, the crowd sometimes gets up and dances when Rajnikanth’s name flashes on the screen, said Mani Shankar, a movie director and writer from Hyderabad.

“There are mass films and class films,” he said. “In the South they still make the mass films.”

One of the best selling western films ever in India was “2012.” It worked because it was dubbed into many local Indian languages and it was an easy-to-follow, exciting story.

Much of India cannot afford or appreciate the movies from the new Bollywood, which is trying to woo the middle class minority, Mr. Shankar said.

“The movies are not visceral enough, they are cerebral,” he said.

‘It’s the pictures that got small’

That fact that there is a serpentine queue at the box office of a multiplex at the crack of dawn on a Friday morning makes for a strong reiteration of Bangalore’s love of movies. The humongous lines were for the Shah Rukh Khan starrer My Name is Khan that has been consuming reams of newsprint and hours of airwaves. Despite the steep ticket prices, the display board showed “sold out” and “fast-filling” for the weekend.

As 21-year-old collegian Aparna Ashok said: “I don’t mind spending money to watch good films in multiplexes.”

It is not just the youth for whom multiplexes rock. For D. Ambika Nair (49), homemaker and mom to twins, the multiplex is a natural destination “when I am out with friends as we can shop, eat and watch a movie all in the same place.”

But there are limits to fan following. Given that ticket prices can buy a sizeable bag of rice and the enervating expedition of negotiating what appear to be permanent traffic snarls the city is plagued with, the Internet and DVDs come to the rescue of a section of movie buffs. While most movie lovers know nothing compares to the “complete” theatre experience, they also face party-poopers such as long queues, a big hole in the pocket, freeze-level ACs, irritating cellphones, etc.

Lowdown on downloads

So you have people like Krishnaveni Badikillaya (24) who download movies from the Net. “It is definitely more convenient for working professionals,” she says.

In our over-communicated world where glitzy promos try to outdo each other to grab eyeballs, the wide, wild world of the Internet offers a totally different perspective. It is thanks to the Internet that a small, intimate movie such as Paranormal Activity became the rage it did. The haunted-house mockumentary, directed by Oren Peli, eschewed big-screen must haves like super effects for a static camera but managed to scare people out of their wits - including director Steven Spielberg. The movie took on a life of its own on the Internet and by the time it was released in theatres early this year, most movie buffs had already watched it online and been suitably terrified.

The other trend nowadays is films coming out on the telly within weeks of their release. Movies like that super-expensive underwater disaster Blue was aired on television within a blink of the eye. Even Rajkumar Santoshi’s Ranbir Kapoor-Katrina Kaif starrer Ajab Prem ki Gazab Kahani was aired soon after its theatre release.

However, the adage of content being king rules and a good movie will always find takers in theatres. Most people echo 15-year-old Joshua Samuel, a Baldwin High School student, when he said: “I prefer to watch good films on the screen rather than on the telly.”

The cost factor is taken care of with selective viewing with most people going to the big screen once in two months. As Aparna said: “It depends… Avatar was released with many other good films such as Sherlock Holmes and 3 Idiots. So I ended up spending a lot of money. Otherwise, there are times when months go by without me spending on movie tickets.”

Weekend rates

Oddly enough, the theatre-going public grumbled about being parted with their money for a few hours to pay the deposit for the special glasses to watch James Cameron’s 3D sci-fi extravaganza Avatar. The pricey weekend rates also added to the mutterings.

“That has always been the case,” commented A. Premchand, movie buff and Paramount Pictures representative.

“When Cleopatra was released in 1965, there was the new 70 mm technology and the tickets were priced higher.”

Mr. Premchand says the tickets in the Swinging Sixties were priced between “80 paise and Rs. 2.50.” “I remember then an increase of 50 paise, which was a decided pinch on the pocket. I had to beg for money from my grandmother to watch Cleopatra,” she said.

While Avatar has the world in a tizzy with its 3D effects, Mr. Premchand remembers watching the 1950s horror classic House of Wax. “I watched it at the Imperial. There was no extra charge for the red and blue glasses which were secured round our heads with a rubberband. We watched the film and returned them at the gate,” he said.

Read the rest HERE.

‘It’s the pictures that got small’

That fact that there is a serpentine queue at the box office of a multiplex at the crack of dawn on a Friday morning makes for a strong reiteration of Bangalore’s love of movies. The humongous lines were for the Shah Rukh Khan starrer My Name is Khan that has been consuming reams of newsprint and hours of airwaves. Despite the steep ticket prices, the display board showed “sold out” and “fast-filling” for the weekend.

As 21-year-old collegian Aparna Ashok said: “I don’t mind spending money to watch good films in multiplexes.”

It is not just the youth for whom multiplexes rock. For D. Ambika Nair (49), homemaker and mom to twins, the multiplex is a natural destination “when I am out with friends as we can shop, eat and watch a movie all in the same place.”

But there are limits to fan following. Given that ticket prices can buy a sizeable bag of rice and the enervating expedition of negotiating what appear to be permanent traffic snarls the city is plagued with, the Internet and DVDs come to the rescue of a section of movie buffs. While most movie lovers know nothing compares to the “complete” theatre experience, they also face party-poopers such as long queues, a big hole in the pocket, freeze-level ACs, irritating cellphones, etc.

Lowdown on downloads

So you have people like Krishnaveni Badikillaya (24) who download movies from the Net. “It is definitely more convenient for working professionals,” she says.

In our over-communicated world where glitzy promos try to outdo each other to grab eyeballs, the wide, wild world of the Internet offers a totally different perspective. It is thanks to the Internet that a small, intimate movie such as Paranormal Activity became the rage it did. The haunted-house mockumentary, directed by Oren Peli, eschewed big-screen must haves like super effects for a static camera but managed to scare people out of their wits - including director Steven Spielberg. The movie took on a life of its own on the Internet and by the time it was released in theatres early this year, most movie buffs had already watched it online and been suitably terrified.

The other trend nowadays is films coming out on the telly within weeks of their release. Movies like that super-expensive underwater disaster Blue was aired on television within a blink of the eye. Even Rajkumar Santoshi’s Ranbir Kapoor-Katrina Kaif starrer Ajab Prem ki Gazab Kahani was aired soon after its theatre release.

However, the adage of content being king rules and a good movie will always find takers in theatres. Most people echo 15-year-old Joshua Samuel, a Baldwin High School student, when he said: “I prefer to watch good films on the screen rather than on the telly.”

The cost factor is taken care of with selective viewing with most people going to the big screen once in two months. As Aparna said: “It depends… Avatar was released with many other good films such as Sherlock Holmes and 3 Idiots. So I ended up spending a lot of money. Otherwise, there are times when months go by without me spending on movie tickets.”

Weekend rates

Oddly enough, the theatre-going public grumbled about being parted with their money for a few hours to pay the deposit for the special glasses to watch James Cameron’s 3D sci-fi extravaganza Avatar. The pricey weekend rates also added to the mutterings.

“That has always been the case,” commented A. Premchand, movie buff and Paramount Pictures representative.

“When Cleopatra was released in 1965, there was the new 70 mm technology and the tickets were priced higher.”

Mr. Premchand says the tickets in the Swinging Sixties were priced between “80 paise and Rs. 2.50.” “I remember then an increase of 50 paise, which was a decided pinch on the pocket. I had to beg for money from my grandmother to watch Cleopatra,” she said.

While Avatar has the world in a tizzy with its 3D effects, Mr. Premchand remembers watching the 1950s horror classic House of Wax. “I watched it at the Imperial. There was no extra charge for the red and blue glasses which were secured round our heads with a rubberband. We watched the film and returned them at the gate,” he said.

Read the rest HERE.