Overseas markets are the new gold mine for Indian movies
At last count, the Aamir Khan-starrer Dangal had made ₹726.32 crore in China, becoming the highest grossing non-Hollywood film in the country, beating previous recordholder, Japan’s ‘Your Name’.
Meanwhile, SS Rajamouli’s war epic ‘Baahubali 2: The Conclusion’ continues to do well in international markets, having made $18.9 million in the US, £811,478 in the UK, and A$ 2,363,757 in Australia.
“The success of these two films has shown that there is a need to look beyond traditional Indian markets—at global audiences,” said trade analyst Taran Adarsh. “There has truly been a breakthrough.”
To be sure, overseas territories were traditionally seen as the domain of the three Indian superstars, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan.
With takings of more than $23 million (₹100.5 crore) and $19 million (₹100.2 crore), respectively, Shah Rukh Khan’s My Name Is Khan (2010) and Chennai Express (2013) rank among the top 10 Bollywood grossers in the overseas markets.
Now, other Indian films, mostly big-Budget Bollywood ones with the resources to invest in local distribution networks and marketing campaigns, have begun to eye overseas markets.
Part of the reason for this is the strong Indian diaspora in some of these markets, according to Atul Mohan, editor of trade magazine Complete Cinema.
And part is the growing demand for content. “There is a complete bankruptcy of original content everywhere. Hollywood may be unbeaten in science and technology but everyone needs new, emotional and unadulterated content,” said Utpal Acharya, founder of film production, distribution and marketing company Indian Film Studios.
“Dangal is a reflection of real life and Indian society; Baahubali, though a fictional drama, is a slice of Indian mythology and culture that everyone is interested in with the evolved positioning of India in the world. This is truly the beginning of Indian cinema turning into global cinema.”
Production houses eyeing overseas markets are realising that they need to get serious about marketing and distribution. In some ways UTV Motion Pictures was the pioneer. For PK, it signed a distribution deal with Huaxia Film Group, a local Chinese company and aggressively marketed the film with Khan himself travelling.
While in India, marketing and distribution can make up 25% of a film’s budget, overseas spends are linked more to the revenue potential of the territory.
“Overseas markets can add significantly to the top- and bottom-lines of our movies and help increase the scale and quality of our productions,” said Shobu Yarlagadda, co-founder and chief executive officer at Arka Mediaworks, the production house behind Baahubali.
“It’s not easy to break into international markets. But it’s important that we make consistent efforts to expand our film markets internationally both in traditional diaspora regions like the US and UK and non-diaspora markets like China.”