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HOLLYWOOD’S SUMMER SLAM!
As Avengers: Infinity War and Deadpool 2 rake in big numbers in India, we take a look at how Hollywood films are set for a summer bonanza at the Indian box office
It goes without saying that temperatures are going through the roof this summer. Interestingly, at the box office too, things are searing as multiple Hollywood biggies heat up the competition. Avengers: Infinity War, which released on April 27, has netted close to ₹225 crore till date and Deadpool 2 made almost ₹34 crore in its opening weekend (first part’s lifetime collection in India was ₹29 crore).
A STRONG OUTING
Looking at the formidable lineup from across the seas (see box), the stage has been set for a Hollywood summer slam. “Hollywood is clearly on a roll this season. They are now a force to reckon with. I feel this competition will only better the quality of Hindi films, as it’s all about survival of the fittest now. Surprisingly, Hollywood movies are touching such big numbers despite a limited release,” says trade analyst Taran Adarsh, adding that “language of a film hardly matters”. “So, of late, we have seen the success of a dubbed film, Baahubali 2, an English film, Avengers, as well as a Hindi movie, Raazi.”
After Raazi’s success, from Bollywood, this summer will also see the release of Parmanu — The Story of Pokhran, Veere Di Wedding, Kaala, Race 3, Sanju, Soorma, Fanne Khan and Dhadak among others. “Hollywood has always posed a threat to Hindi
films but now, as Indian audiences become more aware about global content, that threat has grown manifold. It especially holds true for big Hollywood franchises. Nowadays, Hindi film-makers have to keep Hollywood releases in mind while setting a release date,” says trade expert Amod Mehra.
THE NUMBER GAME
Going by numbers, the share of Hollywood films in the overall Indian box-office pie went up to 13% in 2017, as per industry estimates. About a decade ago, the figure was around 5%, and five years ago, the numbers stood at around 7%. Apparently, last year, the box-office collections of Hollywood films — including dubbed versions — was over ₹8 billion as compared to ₹7.95 billion in 2016.
Experts feel that besides the dubbed versions (mainly Tamil, Telugu and Hindi), localisation of Hollywood films and innovative marketing campaigns are working big time. For instance, while the trailer for Spider-Man: Homecoming was released in 10 Indian languages, of late, a number of Bollywood stars have also dubbed for Hollywood films. For instance, Priyanka Chopra, Irrfan Khan, late Om Puri and Nana Patekar dubbed for The Jungle Book (it made a whopping ₹188 crore in India) and now, Ranveer Singh has dubbed for Deadpool 2, which is also doing really well at the box office.
“The numbers that Deadpool 2 has raked in, have been great so far. It is our endeavour to deliver highly localised marketing campaigns which reach not only to the fan base but also expands the market by bringing in new audiences,” says Vijay Singh, CEO, Fox Star Studios that has released films such as Avatar (2009), Life of Pi (2012) and now Deadpool 2. “The approach towards marketing and distribution of Hollywood films has changed over the years, with a highly aggressive approach to localisation. We are releasing in more screens with localised marketing efforts in every market, keeping in mind the increasing demand for English movies across various regions of India,” he says.