Showing posts with label Heer Express. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Heer Express. Show all posts
Free movie ticket offer turning into a flop show
8:33 AM
‘Buy one get one free’ plans on opening weekend itself being seen as a tactic by producers to push bad films, say experts
Rajesh N Naidu (THE ECONOMIC TIMES; September 15, 2025)
Mumbai: Increasing frequency of introducing 'buy one get one' (BOGO) offer on movie tickets, either in the opening weekend or on the opening day of a film's release rather than much later is proving to be counterproductive for producers as audiences are perceiving this tactic as the last resort to deal with low audience interest and boost collections of bad films, said film trade analysts, producers and distributors.
Recently, the makers of Hindi films such as Tanvi The Great, Baaghi 4, Ek Chatur Naar, and Heer Express announced BOGO offers on the opening day itself.
"BOGO ticket offers either on the opening day, or weekend have become a new trend in recent months," said Shaaminder Malik, a film distributor and trade analyst. "Earlier, makers would wait for at least two weeks and introduce BOGO offers on tickets to sustain momentum in collections of films which have already clicked with audiences," he added.
BOGO offer on film tickets first began with the rationale of making incremental collections on films which have already worked with audiences. Producers could afford to give BOGO offers of such films since the box office collections had already surpassed their estimates in the initial weeks. They would, therefore, launch a BOGO offer much after a film is released in theatres.
For instance, the makers of the film Gadar 2, which received a tremendous response from audiences, introduced a BOGO offer only in the third week of its release. For such films, a BOGO offer helps to boost ticket sales by 10-20%, said trade analysts. It also allows makers of mid-and-small-sized films to attract audiences to theatres. A pitfall of this practice is producers lose money when films fail to provide high incremental collections post the offer as they pay for the free tickets. Exhibitors' share in collections, however, remains intact.
"The general understanding of BOGO offers is that one gets a ticket free on buying a ticket. But this is a marketing thing. In real terms, one gets a discount of a certain amount on a ticket which is capped and borne by a producer," explained Suniel Wadhwa, co-founder and director at Karmic Films.
"These campaigns are tactical marketing spending to build momentum in footfalls. But they can never be a substitute for organic success of films."
Largely, producers have not gained from these marketing initiatives if one considers the performance of recent films. Even after the BOGO offer, Baaghi 4, which released on September 5, collected Rs. 47.5 crore compared to Rs. 72 crore by the English film, The Conjuring: Last Rites, which released on the same date.
"BOGO offers are so excessively used that they have a negative effect. Today, audiences interpret a BOGO offer as an indication that a film is not good. So, it is backfiring," said Girish Johar, producer and film business expert.
Though producers are resorting to BOGO offers, besides getting high-value deals from streamers and satellite channels, these entities have become stricter in buying films at irrational prices from producers.
Fenil's Bollywood Talk # 899
9:19 AM
JAPANESE ANIME FILM TO DOMINATE BOX OFFICE THIS WEEK; OPEN IN DOUBLE DIGITS
The Japanese anime films have always had a passionate but minuscule number of fans in India. A few of the films have opened in the range of Rs. 1-2 crores, which was quite good, considering the niche appeal. But all beliefs have been changed in the last few days with Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle.
This film, believe it or not, has sold more than 1 lakh tickets in the national chains on the first day and the number keeps growing as the release date nears. The demand was so huge that exhibitors decided to play shows at 5:00 am, a first for a Japanese film in India. Even that wasn’t enough to cope with the demand. As a result, the theatres are now playing round-the-clock shows, with the first show starting at midnight.
The advance booking is possibly the highest this year, and might surpass films like Chhaava, The Conjuring: Last Rites and Saiyaara, among others. As of now, it’ll open around Rs. 14-15 crores, but the number can go higher.
There is an audience that’s dying to see the film but there’s also a section of the audience who’s still not interested, as they haven’t possibly followed the series or are not into anime at all. Hence, the next few days will be huge for the film, but at some point, it’ll face a drop. Whether it happens on weekdays or next week remains to be seen. Nevertheless, with such an opening, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle is all set to be one of the highest-grossing films of the year in the country.
The other significant release of the week is Mirai. It is a Telugu film starring Teja Sajja of Hanuman fame and is backed by People Media Factory, producers of Jaat and the upcoming Pan-India flick, The Raja Saab. In Hindi, the film is presented by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions. In Telugu, it seems like it’ll open on a healthy note. But in Hindi, excitement is negligible. The opening will be weak, and it’ll need a strong word of mouth to make a big jump on Saturday.
Meanwhile, several small Hindi films will be up for release tomorrow like Ek Chatur Naar, Heer Express, Love In Vietnam, Mannu Kya Karegga and Jugnuma. Ek Chatur Naar has some chances, but the rest of the films will face a tough time getting an audience.
The Japanese anime films have always had a passionate but minuscule number of fans in India. A few of the films have opened in the range of Rs. 1-2 crores, which was quite good, considering the niche appeal. But all beliefs have been changed in the last few days with Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle.
This film, believe it or not, has sold more than 1 lakh tickets in the national chains on the first day and the number keeps growing as the release date nears. The demand was so huge that exhibitors decided to play shows at 5:00 am, a first for a Japanese film in India. Even that wasn’t enough to cope with the demand. As a result, the theatres are now playing round-the-clock shows, with the first show starting at midnight.
The advance booking is possibly the highest this year, and might surpass films like Chhaava, The Conjuring: Last Rites and Saiyaara, among others. As of now, it’ll open around Rs. 14-15 crores, but the number can go higher.
There is an audience that’s dying to see the film but there’s also a section of the audience who’s still not interested, as they haven’t possibly followed the series or are not into anime at all. Hence, the next few days will be huge for the film, but at some point, it’ll face a drop. Whether it happens on weekdays or next week remains to be seen. Nevertheless, with such an opening, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle is all set to be one of the highest-grossing films of the year in the country.
The other significant release of the week is Mirai. It is a Telugu film starring Teja Sajja of Hanuman fame and is backed by People Media Factory, producers of Jaat and the upcoming Pan-India flick, The Raja Saab. In Hindi, the film is presented by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions. In Telugu, it seems like it’ll open on a healthy note. But in Hindi, excitement is negligible. The opening will be weak, and it’ll need a strong word of mouth to make a big jump on Saturday.
Meanwhile, several small Hindi films will be up for release tomorrow like Ek Chatur Naar, Heer Express, Love In Vietnam, Mannu Kya Karegga and Jugnuma. Ek Chatur Naar has some chances, but the rest of the films will face a tough time getting an audience.
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