Showing posts with label Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse. Show all posts

Industry in chaos as filmmakers start offering free tickets or tickets at discounted rates

8:45 AM

Posted by Fenil Seta

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Zara Hatke Zara Bachke Day 1 vs Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse Day 2 Occupancy At Box Office
Box Office India Trade Network

The release of ZARA HATKE ZARA BACHKE last week came with a buy one ticket get one offer through the biggest ticketing platform in India, BookMyShow. The industry reports of the film were not encouraging but the film worked with a certain audience in the Hindi belt heartland. This middle class has an overlapping audience in the metros as well. So, many theatres did well in the metros as well.

As within the industry the film was not thought to be that good, the success of the film was put down to the offer and then there was complete chaos as midweek you had the other holdovers like THE KERALA STORY and even SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE giving offers with free tickets and discounted rates. The re release of GADAR - EK PREM KATHA on limited screenings is coming with a buy one get one free offer. There are now many producers of new films contemplating the same.

The fact is that these things just don't work and its about the film and ZARA HATKE ZARA BACHKE has worked to whatever extent due to the film and not the offer. There were reports about X amount of lakh tickets going for free but that is not the case as the numbers coming from the multiplexes chains are much much less as far as far as the free tickets go.

The buy one get one free ticket tactic means that your share is zero on two tickets which makes little business sense. In fact it is less than zero as you are also paying GST yourself on one of the tickets meaning share being minus. The problem being faced by the industry is basically a change in audiences tastes and it is a game of catch up.

This has happened before but this time due to the break for the pandemic it has happened very quickly rather over a few years. Normally you have releases and so the change is picked up and adjustments made to the fresh content going on the floors. But this time it was standstill and then the old content releasing to a divergent audience and box office which had changed, the former in terms of tastes and the latter in terms of different areas driving the box office.

The industry must get into its head that cheap tickets and free tickets does NOT result in more business. The former may give you more footfalls but not higher collections. There is also a misconception that multiplexes want higher rates which is not true as they are happy to drop rates and do these incentives if the producer wishes and its much harder actually for the producer to get the extra push from multiplexes when the there is a premium product. Yes watching a film in a multiplex is not affordable for many but the issue there is not the ticket rate but concessions. There are many multiplexes with 150-200 rates but where the bill goes up and up is on concessions.

Simply put offers and low ticket rates are not going make films do better business. The business side is content related and if the audience does not like there is not much chance of getting numbers. You can even go dirt cheap and all that will do is get more admits but the bottom line is that its unlikely to increase. There are so many examples of this in the tax exemption days as tickets rates went down 70-80% due to high tax but even still with tax exemption, so many films flopped and could not do the business.

This is a dangerous cycle and once you start it sometimes gets hard to stop as by then you make cheap or free tickets a habit for some of the audience and even multiplex chains like it as they see higher footfalls which leads to higher sales on concessions side. The only loser will be the distributor or producer. 

It looked like this was all gone post National Cinema Day when many tactics and tricks were tried but it has come back now and even here the industry will find out it does not work as films tank with offers and cheap tickets when content is not good. National Cinema Day is fine once or twice a year but it can only work if its a novelty rather than week in and week out and even there it cant be when there is a highly awaited big release as you cant build capacity.

The sooner the industry does away with this, the better and just let the system work naturally. The rule has been the same for years and holds true today that its all about the product being good and that good product with a good distribution may get out a 5-10% better result than the same product with normal or poor distribution.

Fenil's Bollywood Talk # 781

10:19 AM

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ZARA HATKE ZARA BACHKE IS A SURPRISE HIT; NOT MUCH HOPE FROM GADAR'S RE RELEASE AND TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS

Zara Hatke Zara Bachke, which was released last week, was expected to be yet another underperforming film of the year. The challenges in front of the film were immense - the trailer had not worked, the star cast was not that exciting and the perception had spread that it looks like an 'OTT film'.

However, Zara Hatke Zara Bachke overcame all these challenges. The makers played on the film's plusses - the song 'Phir Aur Kya Chahiye' became a hit, the film came at a time when there was a dearth of big Hindi releases. Also, despite the weak trailer, the film seemed relatable. The lead actors, Vicky Kaushal and Sara Ali Khan, also went all out with promotions.

A day before the release, the makers announced that those who book the tickets on the popular ticketing app, BookMyShow, will get one ticket free on every ticket. This led to a spike in bookings.

Due to a combination of these factors, Zara Hatke Zara Bachke opened at a huge Rs. 5.25 crores. The industry and trade expectation was that it will open at Rs. 2 crores. Hence, no one ever imagined that this film's opening would be more than bigger films like Shehzada (Rs. 5.03 crores) and Selfiee (Rs. 2.60 crores)! The word of mouth is mixed. Yet, it grew on Saturday, collecting Rs. 7 crores and on Sunday, it further jumped to Rs. 9.50 crores. The BookMyShow offer was extended till Monday. On the fourth day, it collected Rs. 3.75 crores. There was no offer on Tuesday and yet it collected Rs. 3.50 crores. The first week's collections are expected to be around Rs. 35 crores. If all goes well, Zara Hatke Zara Bachke will have a lifetime of Rs. 50 crores.

Many felt that Zara Hatke Zara Bachke did so well due to the BookMyShow offer. But then many cinemas saw spot bookings. The offer was not valid in such a scenario. This shows that there was a lot of interest among the moviegoers to watch the film which the industry and trade failed to notice.

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse, the other release last week, is also doing great. The film collected around Rs. 18 crores in its extended weekend (it released on Thursday, June 1). It will collect around Rs. 30-35 crores in its lifetime and this is a feat for an animated version.

This week's big theatrical release is Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts. The series is not that popular in India. Releasing on Thursday, June 8, it just has one week to score as next week will see the release of two big films - Adipurush and The Flash.

On OTT, the big release is Bloody Daddy. It stars Shahid Kapoor and is directed by Ali Abbas Zafar. The film looks quite cinematic but it's releasing on Jio Cinema. Since the film will be available for free, the viewership is expected to be tremendous.

Finally, Gadar will re-release in cinemas tomorrow, June 9. The decision was taken as Gadar 2 will arrive in cinemas on Independence Day this year. Not much is expected for the first part to do well in cinemas as it has been consumed tremendously by viewers over the years. Yet, one should be prepared for a surprise. Earlier this year, Jab We Met re-released on Valentine's Day 2023 and got decent occupancy. Gadar might also follow suit.

(Crisp) Movie Review: SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE by FENIL SETA

1:43 PM

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Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse is a fun-filled and thrilling entertainer that delivers a lot more than what the trailers promised. The film starts on a great and unexpected note. The humour quotient is very much there and the Indian connection will be loved by viewers. There are a lot many other surprises which are sure to create a frenzy among fans in cinemas. On the flipside, at 140 minutes, it’s too long. At some places, the animation gets too overwhelming visually and it becomes too difficult for viewers to focus on the happenings on the screen. The voiceovers are quite good by Shameik Moore (Miles), Hailee Steinfeld (Gwen), Oscar Isaac (Miguel O'Hara), Brian Tyree Henry (Jefferson Davis), Luna Lauren Vélez (Rio Morales), Karan Soni (Pavitr Prabhakar) and Daniel Kaluuya (Hobie). All in all, Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse is worth-watching and has the potential to become a gripping, entertaining and money-spinning franchise.

My rating - *** ½ out of 5!

Fenil's Bollywood Talk # 780

12:27 PM

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WILL SPIDER-MAN AND VICKY KAUSHAL-SARA ALI KHAN'S FILM BRING CHEER FOR THE VIEWERS AND EXHIBITORS?

The month of June is here and the first week will see the release of two prominent films, one Hindi and one Hollywood.

The Hindi one is Zara Hatke Zara Bachke. It stars Vicky Kaushal and Sara Ali Khan in the lead and is directed by Laxman Utekar of Luka Chuppi and Mimi fame. The makers decided to bring this film to cinemas on June 2 after Shah Rukh Khan starrer Jawan vacated the date. The promotion started less than a month ago and the makers tried their best to create a noise about the product.

However, the buzz is limited. The song 'Phir Aur Kya Chahiye' got noticed. But the trailer got panned. The makers cut the promo in such a way that one doesn't come to know the film's plot. While doing so, the impact got hampered.

Hence, the film is expected to open in the range of Rs. 1.50-2 crores. If word of mouth is positive, it can see a huge jump in earnings over the weekend. But if reports are bad, it can struggle to even cross Rs. 15 crores.

The other major release is Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse. It is a sequel to Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. Spider-Man has an insane fan following in India. But since this is an animated series, the first part couldn't even cross the Rs. 10 crores mark.

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse, however, is going to be an exception. There's a lot of hype and excitement for the film. The advance booking is strong and it is expected to open in the range of Rs. 4-4.50 crores and even higher. Interestingly, it is releasing on Thursday, June 1. Despite arriving in cinemas on a working day, it will have such a fine opening and this is surely a feat. It'll thus cross the first day earnings of Incredibles 2 (Rs. 3.75 crores) and emerge as the biggest animation opener in India. Even worldwide, it is expected to rake in a lot of moolah.

Cricketer Shubman Gill lends his voice to Indian Spider-Man Pavitr Prabhakar in Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse

8:05 AM

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Shubman Gill
BOMBAY TIMES (May 8, 2023)

Interest in the upcoming movie Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has skyrocketed since the trailer was released. After the enormous success of Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021, fans are excited to return to the Spider-Man universe. This time is particularly special for India because our very own Indian Spider-Man, Pavitr Prabhakar, makes his debut on the big screen.

The Hindi and Punjabi versions of the film will feature cricketer Shubman Gill’s voice, which will make Pavitr’s character even more special for Indian viewers. With his batting prowess, the cricketer has been quite the draw for cricket fans, and as Pavitr Prabhakar in the film, he is now prepared to win over cricket fans across India.

Shubman, who confesses that Spider-Man has been his favourite superhero, has made a big entry into the superhero’s world. He is the first sports personality to lend his voice to one of the biggest Hollywood franchises.

Shubman says, “I have grown up watching Spider-Man, and he is one of the most relatable superheroes. Since the movie will be debuting the Indian Spider-Man for the first time on screen, getting to be his voice in Hindi and Punjabi languages was a remarkable experience for me. Already, I feel superhuman. I am eagerly anticipating the release ofthis movie.”

Shony Panjikaran, General Manager and Head of Sony Pictures Releasing International (SPRI) India, shares, “June 2 will indeed be a momentous occasion for all Spider-Man fans across the country, and we are sure that everyone will shower the same love on this film as they did on Spider-Man: No Way Home. We are so excited to collaborate with Shubman Gill, as he’s not only a youth icon but also a true hero, having represented our country so well in international cricket while enthralling millions of fans with his on ground heroics.”

Sony Pictures Entertainment India releases Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi and Bengali on June 2 only in cinemas.

across the spiderverse indian spider man

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