IT?S the season to celebrate Bollywood. First, the 20th Annual Screen Awards in January, followed by the 59th Filmfare Awards the same month and then the Zee Cine Awards held last month. And what do they indicate? That Bollywood is changing. Why? Well, firstly because biopic as a genre has finally got the audience on fire. Courtesy Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, the genre was at the top of the jury list at all awards this year. Of course, niche, ?star-less? and content driven movies such as Shaahid which won the best screenplay award at Screen and The Lunchbox which got the best debut director award at Zee Cine Awards also won accolades. And, a film like Chennai Express announced as the best marketing movie of the year at almost all events showcased how important marketing is for Bollywood, which continues to be largely an unorganised sector, still!
It was the year 2012 when the sector experienced a new lease of life after several years of muted growth. Audiences returned to the theatres and India?s domestic theatrical revenues grew by 23.8% year-on-year, thereby contributing almost 76% to the R11,240-crore film industry. However, experts argue that it was year 2013 that offered the most exquisite opportunities to the industry and won accolades for several successful experiments. In 2013, eight movies including Grand Masti, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela made it to the R100-crore club. Also, three movies? Dhoom 3, Chennai Express and Krrish 3 ? managed to cross the R200-crore box office collection mark and thus, brought to an end the much-touted reign of Aamir Khan?s 3 Idiots since year 2009.
A 2012 versus 2013 comparison will suggest that the craving for South Indian remixes and ?single-screen? masala movies in 2012 waned in 2013. As a result, movies like Policegiri, Bullet Raja and Ramaiya Vastavaiya flopped at the box office. In fact, even star-led movies such as Boss could not make much noise at the plexes unless they boasted enough of differentiated content. On the other hand, small budget movies such as The Lunchbox, Fukrey and Aashiqui 2 with an even lesser known star-cast, tasted blood. Quite pertinently, year 2013 was also a year of sequels. Among the notable ones were Aashiqui 2, Dhoom 3, Grand Masti, Krrish 3, Murder 3, Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobaara, Race 2, Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster Returns, Shootout at Wadala, Satya 2 and Yamla Pagla Deewana 2.
It wasn?t just the big budget movies that set the big screen on fire. Small (R6-12 crore) and mid budget (R15-40 crore) projects such as Sushant Singh Rajput?s Kai Po Che, YRF?s Mere Dad Ki Maruti, Farhan Akhtar?s home production Fukrey, Remo D?Souza?s Any Body Can Dance, Arshad Warsi-starrer Jolly LLB and Kunal Khemu?s Go Goa Gone came as surprise hits, indicating that movies with offbeat storylines, real life inspirations, youth-driven scripts and served with a dash of humour were increasingly finding audiences. Movies that reach out to the multiplex audiences were clearly the norm for 2013. The motion picture business in India is expected to touch R19,000 crore in the next five years, with multiplexes being the main driver. No wonder that multiplex chain operator PVR Cinemas added 69 screens in financial year 2013-14.
?These were quite interesting signals. 2013 was a good year for the industry and showed us that audiences are now opting for high powered content. Cast is not as big a criteria as it used to be in the good old days and there is the emergence of an alternative menu. Consequently, it?s time for content creators like us to not just to set up projects, but to create cinema,? says Tanuj Garg, CEO?Balaji Motion Pictures.
At the same time, the entry of studios in the film production business continues unabated, with television broadcaster Multi Screen Media (MSM) debuting in June 2013 through MSM Motion Pictures. Says Sneha Rajani, deputy president and head, MSM Motion Pictures, ?Most media houses right now in India and across the globe are vertically integrated players. We are no different. We wanted to get into this business, especially in light of the way the movie business in India is growing.? MSM Motion Pictures aims to co-produce small to mid budget films costing R5-15 crore.
Rajani too agrees that 2013 has been a phenomenal year. ?With the number of movies released and the the kind of businesses that they had, it only goes on to show that we have still not tapped the potential of the industry to the fullest. The movie making business is only going to grow exponentially in the next five years,? she added. For the record, MSM?s first co-production with Eros International, Bajate Raho, was released in July last year. Its latest co-production, Darr @ the Mall, released last month. Youngistaan, a collaborative venture between MSM Motion Pictures and the Vashu Bhagnani owned Pooja Pictures, releases on March 28.
?Today, about 70-75% of the domestic box office collections come from multiplexes. Ticket prices at multiplexes increase by about 10-15% every year, so their contribution will only go up further,? says Shailesh Kapoor, co-founder and CEO at Ormax Media?the specialised media insights firm. According to Kamal Gianchandani, president, PVR Pictures, growth in the film business is led by two factors?growth in the number of people who come and watch (read admissions) and the growth in the ticket prices. ?In 2013, growth was witnessed on both these parameters. The average ticket price (ATP) in multiplexes grew by about 7% while the overall ATP growth nationwide was about 9%. The admissions, meanwhile, have grown by 3-4%,? he says.
Quite evidently, Indian cinema and its consumers are ready for a fresh revolution. While the star-system will continue to be at the nucleus of the country?s movie making process, the acceptance of films such as OMG?Oh My God, Shahid, The Lunchbox and even a B.A. Pass suggest that now is the time for new genres and fresh niches to walk in. So, as the hunger for ?experimental and good? cinema takes a new flight, is the movie business ready to scale new heights in 2014? Let?s take a look. While a film gets conceived and developed in a certain year, it gets screened only after a gap of about 12-15 months. As a result, directors and writers have to constantly look forward and simultaneously backward to keep a strong track on the audiences? changing taste.
And therefore, the slate…
Viacom18 Motion Pictures (VMP), a full play studio that creates Hindi, English and regional language films, will release the mid-budget movie Queen, starring Kangana Ranaut, on March 7. Its next Hindi film Manjunath is slated for a March-end release. Set in India?s hinterland, the film is based on the real life story of Manjunath Shanmugham, an IIM Lucknow graduate, who joined an oil company and then went missing.
Additionally, after the resounding success of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, the studio is creating another biopic titled Mary Kom that portrays the journey of a woman pugilist who goes on to win an Olympic medal. The slate also includes Dharam Sankat Mein, a project that builds on the success of OMG ?Oh My God. It is a satirical take on the religious idiosyncrasies of the common man. Gabbar is an action thriller with Akshay Kumar and the studio is also working with the award winning duo Sujoy Ghosh and Vidya Balan on a still unnamed thriller.
Talk of niche and VMP is producing Margarita with a Straw, which is slated for the second quarter. It describes the journey of Laila, a spunky girl born with cerebral palsy. Challenging the norm, this story explores how a girl like Laila is curious about sexuality.
Says Andhare, ?At VMP, we have always been driven by content and script led cinema that pushes the envelope. The key focus this year is definitely to drive profitability in the motion pictures business.? For the record, VMP has also created the Tamil and Telugu versions of its 2012 blockbuster hit, Kahaani which were released last month.
Across town, Disney India (earlier known as Disney-UTV) too has a number of movies that span a wide variety of genres ranging from drama, action and horror to romance, comedy and thrillers. The slate also features the first set of locally produced Disney branded movies including Khoobsurat, P.K., ABCD 2 and Jagga Jasoos (ABCD 2 and JJ release next year). Meanwhile, Imtiaz Ali directed Highway which has just been released, Vishal Bhardwaj directed Haider which is to be released in September, the Salman Khan starrer Kick, an Eid release, directed by Sajid Nadiadwala, Kabir Khan directed Phantom, slated for an October release, and Kunal Deshmukh directed Shaatir are all slated to release this year. It is also co-producing the Lingusamy directed Tamil film, Anjaan starring Suriya, which is slated to release mid 2014.
Says Amrita Pandey, VP and head of theatrical, television and digital distribution for studios?Disney India, ?Our foremost effort is to ensure that we bring our audiences great stories that are original, innovative and delivered by the best talent in the business. We are associating with some of the most talented names in the industry?established names and debutants?to deliver a slate of movies that will entertain audiences of all ages and tastes.?
Now talk of Balaji Motion Pictures and here is how the slate looks like: Shaadi Ke Side Effects, a romantic comedy that released last month, Ragini MMS-2?India?s first ?horror-and-sex feature that releases on March 21; Main Tera Hero, a romantic comedy that releases in April and The Villain, an action romance co-starring Sidharth Malhotra and Shraddha Kapoor, that releases in June. According to market sources, Balaji Motion Pictures is investing more than R120 crore into its film business this year which also includes the marketing and distribution costs. Meanwhile, the bigger studios including VMP and UTV are investing around R500 crore this year.
The smaller production houses are also aiming high. DAR Motion Pictures (DAR), a wholly owned subsidiary of DAR Capital Group, came into limelight last year with releases such as The Lunchbox, D Day and Mickey Virus. This year it intends to grow further with movies such as Fattack?a fun youth film against the canvas of ?gulli? cricket at a budget of R6 crore, Baaji?the first Marathi vigilante superhero film essayed by Shreyas Talpade at a budget of R4 crore, Bikini Murders – a crime thriller with an international cast with a budget of R45 crore) and Haunted 2 – sequel to the 3D stereoscopic horror film Haunted 3D for a budget of R2.15 crore. Vivek Rangachari, managing director, Dar Motion Pictures says, ?There is a new thought process that?s coming into the making of commercial films. Take Hasee Toh Phasee for example. There is a strong fatigue amongst audiences for the tried and tested. Hence, I believe that the quality of films will further improve this year and new innovations will happen. Frankly, we have fantastic hopes for 2014, which is even more diverse than 2013.?
?In 2014, Peekay, Kick, Singham 2 and Happy New Year are some of the big films. But you can be assured that there will be several mid-range films that will stand out, if they get good audience word-of-mouth after release,? adds Shailesh Kapoor, co-founder and CEO at Ormax Media?the specialised media insights firm.
The multiplex phenomenon
It is the multiplex audience that is driving this new trend. According to the Single Screen Association of India and a report by consultants KPMG and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), as of now multiplexes account for just 8% of India?s 12,000 screens. And yet, they attract a third of the total box office receipts. ?There are two broad segments of cinema – traditional films and content led film?and both have grown steadily. The latter segment that is more relevant to multiplexes is knocking at Rs1000 crore nearly and is commercially, a more successful play for the studio business,? says Ajit Andhare, COO?Viacom18 Motion Pictures.
?Today, about 70-75% of the domestic box office collections come from multiplexes. Ticket prices at multiplexes increase by about 10-15% every year, so their contribution will only go up further,? says Ormax Media?s Kapoor. It is expected that the number of screens?multiplexes plus single screens?in India will increase to about 20,000 over the next five years.
India?s multiplex business itelf is currently on a growth trajectory, with big players such as PVR, Inox and Big Cinemas growing their properties across the country, either by organic or inorganic means. In November 2012, PVR Cinemas bought 69.27% of the shares of Cinemax from its promoter for R395 crore, making PVR the largest cinema-chain in India. Reliance MediaWorks plans to take the acquisition route to expand the footprint of its multiplex chain Big Cinemas with an investment of R100 crore, say media reports. With a clear focus on the southern market, it plans to add 50 screens this year through acquisition and another 50 through organic growth.
?Multiplexes and malls have a symbiotic relationship?where there is one, there usually tends to be the other. Add to this the fact that prime, urban real estate is costly and in short supply, and the phenomenon of tier 2 cities emerging as the new growth centres of multiplex screens is easily explained,? says Rajesh Mishra, chief executive officer – Indian operations, UFO Moviez India ? one of the largest satellite-based digital cinema networks in the world.
Not to forget, India?s screen density has much room for improvement ?eight screens per million people, as compared to 117 per million in the United States and 31 per million in China. Says Gaurav Verma, executive director?theatrical distribution, studios? Disney India, ?We estimate multiplexes to add 150-200 screens this year, average ticket price should move up by 7% and overall business by 12-15%.? For the record, Cinepolis, the world?s fifth-largest operator, plans to have 500 screens in India by the end of 2017, up from 68 now.
The change
Digital distribution of films has had a multiplier effect on the industry. Prior to 2005, a big-budget Bollywood entertainer would reach a maximum of about 500 screens on day one of its theatrical release. Now, with films reaching wider audiences in the first week (the opening weekend is always crucial), 2013 marked the entry of the newest and the biggest yet member of the R100-crore club?Dhoom 3. The movie was released in close to 4500 screens in its very first week and went on to become the highest grossing Bollywood film of all times and also the first big-budget film to have a 100% digital release. Again, in 2013, nearly 1500 films were released on the UFO Moviez network – a growth of about 17% on the number of releases in the previous year. ?Almost 95% of the screens are digitised today; analog screens are dying a slow death and will most likely be completely redundant by 2014,? says Rakesh Jariwala, partner, EY.
Now, talk of film marketing and the production houses have added a whole new dimension to creating buzz around their film releases. Film franchises such as Dhoom and Krrish went all out in promoting their films by releasing dolls and action figures based on the protagonists of the films. As unusual as it may be, Krrish even came out with a special superhero jewellery line during its promotions. The film Bullet Raja has come up with a graphic novel based on the film that is already on the stands. Pertinently, Disney has already announced its intent to explore Disney style franchise model for its studio business in India.
?Many small producers also tied up with advertising agencies or larger studios lent their name to the small budget films which resulted in better marketing for the film and hence, greater success at the box office,? Jariwala adds.
Again, digital media today is the fastest way for film promotions to prospective online audiences. Today, trailers and songs are launched on YouTube and other social media first. Interactivity is made possible by way of mobile games and Facebook applications. Digital posters are a new concept launched in Bollywood as seen in the case of Shuddh Desi Romance and Dhoom 3.
Additionally, with studios coming in, the research process for movie making too has become more result-oriented. According to Ormax?s Kapoor, studios are using research at two key stages?campaign tracking, where they use research to maximise the opening of a film, by pre-testing the campaign and then tracking it week-on-week, and movie pre-test, where they use test screenings with consumers to identify areas in which films can be improved, such as re-edit
or re-shoot, to maximise the word-of-mouth, which in turn will impact the business from the second day onwards. ?Research contributes to the various aspects of film making and distribution and has a bearing right from the quality of the movie to its eventual success at the box office. Research regarding the characters and the story contributes to the quality of the movie. Research regarding the filming location and the incentives available increases the profitability of the movie. Research through data analytics around the release window of the movie contributes to greater collections at the box office,? says Jariwala.
At the same time, there are quite a few hurdles that the film industry still has to cross. Today, film promotions and marketing budgets amount to R15-20 crore for big films and a minimum of R5 crore for medium and small budget films. Consequently, many films only end up covering their marketing spends despite being well-appreciated at the box office.
Therefore, there is an urgent need for idea based marketing options. ?With 786 channels in India, it is difficult to reach out to even 5% of those channels. Meanwhile, newspapers or print has become prohibitively expensive. The biggest platform which is growing and is cheap currently is social media,? says Yusuf M Shaikh, head?distribution, acquisition & IPR management, Percept Picture Company.
The distribution challenges are also too many. Big releases every week means no film sustains beyond one week in cinemas. In fact, a film gets only a three-day window to score at the box office due to competition every week. ?Also, multiplex programmers decide the fate of the film even before its release. Their judgment of a film is crucial to its success or failure. Their positioning of a film could enhance or ruin a film on a given day. Not to forget, Hollywood films are occupying 30% of multiplex screens all the time,? Shaikh complains.
Now with challenges so many, the big opportunity finally is in opening up of more theatres. ?Only 3% of India?s population has seen Dhoom 3, the biggest film ever, in theatres. If we can take this 3% up to 5%, we will be talking about a R300-400-crore film soon. The only solution is to take the theatres into mini metros and small towns,? says Kapoor.
Well, there is hope. It is expected that the number of screens in India will increase to about 20,000 over the next five years. Consolidation amongst multiplexes is expected to be the next big game. Multiplexes are also expected to use data analytics to better slot films and create niche windows for releasing particular films.
