‘ PULL UP YOUR SOCKS OR PERISH’
As SpiderMan: Homecoming does exceedingly well at Indian box office, trade experts say that the quality of Bollywood films must go up
Clearly, Spider-Man has spun its web of box office success, going by the numbers in India. Apparently, the Tom Hollandstarrer has made close to ` 34 crores (till Monday; including previews).
While trade insiders call it “one of the biggest openings for a Hollywood film in India”, experts feel “we should get used to Hollywood films doing extremely well” in the country.
After Spider-Man: Homecoming, other biggies such as War for the Planet of the Apes, Dunkirk (directed by Christopher Nolan), Thor: Ragnarok, Justice League, Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle are lined up for release this year.
“Like anywhere else in the world, there is a lot of awareness about Hollywood films in India too, thanks to the internet and other modes of communications. Plus, the content is easily available to us also, so the business is bound to go up,” says trade analyst Taran Adarsh.
Hollywood “should look at all the markets”, film-maker DJ Caruso told HT Café during his trip to India earlier this year. He added, “It seems that seeing what Furious 7 (2015) and The Jungle Book (2016) did [in India] was eyeopening. And when Hollywood executives see such a potential, they must be like, ‘how do we get into that game?’ I am sure they are going to target India now knowing that those films have done so well.” Caruso’s xXx: Return of Xander Cage had starred Deepika Padukone.
Experts say that over the past few years, the number of Hollywood films that release in India has “gone up rapidly”. “Now, since all those films release simultaneously — sometimes earlier in India too — as other parts of the world or the US, only shows how seriously Hollywood is taking Indian market,” adds Adarsh.
Hollywood probably first took a serious look at business from India when Furious 7 became the first Hollywood film to enter ` 100 crore club in India. Last year, The Jungle Book made close to ` 180 crore at desi box office, which was followed by other biggies such as Captain America: Civil War, The Conjuring 2 and Deadpool.
Exhibitor-distributor Akshaye Rathi says that Hollywood films doing well is “a shock that we [Hindi film industry] need to experience.” He says, “Look at the kind and quality of content we have come up with in the recent past. Now, that audiences readily lap up Hollywood content, Hindi film-makers also realise that they need to up their game quickly. And, I am sure it will only lead to improvement in our films’ quality too.”
So, what has made Hollywood so big in India of late? “Famous franchises –– Superman, Spider-Man and Batman have always been on top of our minds. And, now, thanks to the awareness, we also look forward to films made by directors such as Christopher Nolan, Steven Spielberg or Woody Allen,” says Adarsh.
But isn’t it scary for Bollywood? “Yes, it is. We should be ready for all kinds of competitions. The big success of Baahubali 2 is a sign that Hindi film-makers should pull up their socks or perish. It’s an open market,” says Adarsh.