Tinseltown eyes India
Hollywood’s footprint in india is all set to grow exponentially.
WITH the stupendous success of films like The Adventures Of Tintin, Spider-man, the Harry Potter franchise and the Twilight series on Indian marquees, Hollywood now has its sight firmly on the sub-continental firmament.
To capitalise on this huge and yet untapped market, many Hollywood studios are looking at India as the numero uno destination to release their films even before their US launch. They are also channelling big bucks to promote their films across the country and releasing their productions with a large number of prints.
With a growing middle class, a large English-speaking demographic, increase in the number of multiplexes and a cinema-obsessed culture, India seems a natural destination for Hollywood studios. But, as trade analysts point out, this opportunity seems to have escaped both parties.
“Both America and India possess the world’s largest entertainment and media industries in terms of turnover and global popularity,” says entertainment analyst Irfan Bomani. “Yet neither has enjoyed a rich commercial synergy with the other. But it looks like this is all set to change now.”
Recently, Sony Pictures’ animation – The Adventures Of Tintin – released in India with an unprecedented number of over 350 prints to achieve record-breaking success. Released in both English and Hindi in 3D, 2D and IMAX 3D formats, the blockbuster garnered a whopping Us$1.5mil (Rm4.5mil) at the box office within the first three days of its release.
Encouraged by such mind-boggling numbers, more and more of Hollywood’s biggies are foraying into the Indian heartland to promote their films.
This, say experts, marks the beginning of an exciting new trend.
Earlier last year, several Hollywood films such as The Pirates Of The Caribbean, The Hangover 2 and Kung Fu Panda 2 – had tested the waters and attracted higher collections than Bollywood blockbusters.
Buoyed by the commercial gain, A-list Hollywood studios are look- ing to expand their footprint in India. They are also strengthening their base by tying up with Bollywood production and distribution houses. For instance, Studio 18 has entered into an alliance with Paramount Pictures for distribution of films while UTV Motion Pictures will be co-producing and distributing Disney films in India.
Studio 18 will also be distributing Paramount Pictures’ films in Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh. Walt Disney and UTV Motion Pictures have also announced a creative alliance to co-produce a slew of Disney-branded films.
Both the companies will share creative responsibilities with UTV managing the production, marketing and distribution of the films. Studio 18 already has a tie-up with Paramount internationally, which they are now planning to exploit locally.
“Our goal is to produce films that have direct connection with the dynamic and expanding India audience,” elaborated a Walt Disney official.
Meanwhile, UTV feels “this is a strategic initiative that further strengthens our relationship with Disney”.
The rapid proliferation of multiplex screens across the country has also facilitated the penetration of Hollywood films into India.
This has dramatically augmented the reach of Hollywood’s products. Consequently,
Hollywood films are also hitting screens earlier to capitalise on this enormous demand amongst India’s English-speaking populace.
For instance, Steven Spielberg’s Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn was released in India on Nov 11 last year, a month before it opened in American cinemas. Similarly, The Three Musketeers opened on Oct 13, a week before its
US release, while Mission: Impossible
- Ghost Protocol hit theatres on Dec 16, five days before its general release in the United States.
Sony Pictures has also decided to release the next Bond movie, due in November this year, in India first.
This is clearly a break from the past when Hollywood films opened in India months after their international releases. The trend, say experts, will significantly bolster Hollywood’s share of India’s 1,000movies-a-year film industry, which was worth Us$81mil (Rm243mil) in 2010.
Part of the success of this phenomenon can also be attributed to Hollywood dubbing its English films in local languages. Indeed, dubbed versions of Hollywood successes have helped reap profits many fold. For instance, half of the Us$26mil (Rm78mil) raked in by James Cameron’s Avatar – the highestgrossing movie of all time and one of the most popular in India – last year came from Hindi, Telugu and Tamil versions.
India’s potential first captured Hollywood’s attention in 2002, when the Indian government allowed 100% FDI (foreign direct investment) in film production, exhibition and distribution in the country. But industry watchers say it is only in the last three-odd years that the West has really begun to take cognizance of the Indian market. The runaway success of Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, say analysts, has fuelled their interest in India.
In 2009, there were just three co-productions between Hollywood and Indian studios. But in 2010, the number showed an upward spiral to eight and the number is increasing.
Bomani pins down Sony Pictures releasing the James Bond flick
Quantum Of Solace in India before the US in 2008 as a turning point.
Quantum’s spectacular success – drawing over Us$9mil (Rm27mil) in India – prompted more and more studios to do likewise. And now, most big Hollywood studios, says the expert, are not only bringing films to India, but also co-producing movies with local counterparts and even taking over Indian companies.
“UTV’S acquisition by Walt Disney Studios is the most recent example of the commitment, both financial and strategic, that US studios are placing on this important market,” Michael Ellis, president and managing director of Motion Picture Association’s AsiaPacific operations, told an Indian daily.
Hollywood studios are also looking at co-producing movies in even more regional languages, including Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and Bhojpuri.
My Name Is Khan, which starred Bollywood favourite Shah Rukh Khan, was a collaboration between Fox Star Studios India – itself a joint venture between 20th Century Fox and Mumbai-based Star – and two Indian companies.
Other Indian companies like Studio 18 have also tied up with Paramount Pictures to distribute films, while UTV Motion Pictures will soon be co-producing and distributing Disney films in India.
Apart from private initiatives, a governmental push is also spurring Hollywood’s interest in Indian cinema. A task force set up by the Pacific Council on International Policy and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) has recommended that the United States and India craft a com- mon approach on cultural market access and use their strategic positions to advance it in global trade negotiations. Both countries were advised to flesh out “a joint plan for advancing the digital transformation of the global media industry”.
Urged by the task force, both the governements will now provide adequate funding for efforts to develop advanced fiber-optic networks that enable real-time creative and production partnerships between the two countries. Creating short-term exchange programmes between US and Indian production companies and film schools to “foster genuine creative interactions” is also being worked out.