by Yash Raj Films twilight All eyes on Mumbai’s Hindi film industry, known as Bollywood, which opens at the Indian box office tomorrow, will be watching the premiere closely.
With big star Ranbir Kapoor as a major studio and a $20 million budget behind it, hopes are high that the period action movie will be a sign of recovery for Bollywood, which has had the first half of 2022 on a rocky basis.
While a few Indian films have been successful this year, Kashmir Archives, Gangubai Kathiawadi and finally a horror comedy Bhul Bhulaya 2 – An alarming number of titles with big stars and high expectations have dropped, even though Indian cinemas have been open for months without Covid restrictions.
To add insult to injury, films in the South Indian film industry are made in other languages, especially Kannada. KGF: Part 2 and telugu language RRR – Breaking box office records in India and abroad. India’s total box office for January-June 2022 is around $712 million (Rs 56.9 billion), which compares favorably with the pre-pandemic 2019 figure of $1.4 billion. However, Hindi broadcasts only accounted for 34% of the first half; 45% of this was not Hindi but dubbing of Hindi English and South Indian movies.
Bollywood producers are pointing their fingers at changes in consumer habits during the pandemic, a familiar story in other regions that have seen a shift towards big-event movies at the expense of smaller movies as increased streaming encourages viewers to consume more content. at home. India’s streaming landscape is fiercely competitive, with a number of local players including Zee5, Voot and SonyLiv competing against Disney+ Hotstar, Amazon Prime and Netflix.
However, there is still a demand for big theater plays. In a market where Hollywood has always been viewed as a minor actor, audiences are also lining up for Disney movies. Thor: love and thunder Y Strange doctor in the multiverse of madnessWhile moving away from small and medium budget Indian films.
“Many films have gone straight to digital over the past two years, creating an expectation in audiences’ minds that if they don’t go to the cinema, they can watch the film at home within a month.” Says Shibashish Sarkar, producer and former Reliance CEO who currently runs the International Media Acquisition Corp (IMAC) at SPAC.
But these producers also point to a factor unique to India: changes in Bollywood itself over the past decade that have shifted away from the more “grassroots” style and appealing more to what Sarkar describes as a “city-focused multiplex audience.” ” or rural. Storytelling remains popular in the South. While this gave Indian cinema greater prestige in the West, it did not affect the large audience of moviegoers in the heart of India who still yearn for songs and performances; A hero who can defeat the bad guys and conquer the girl without giving up her city feelings.
movies like RRR Y KGF The series isn’t exactly polished, but it also delivers.
Hollywood movies save money in terms of crazy shows, romance, action and dance moves, all well below the cost of a Marvel movie. “They slapped us because they reminded us how to have fun and put together a traditional production,” says Pranab Kapadia, director of UK-based international distributor Moviegoers Entertainment. “It’s not that we don’t know how to do it, it’s just that we forget how to do it and suddenly we’re dethroned in a big way.”
But there are some factors that give hope to the Indian film industry after this series of hard hits. The first is a packed theatrical release schedule for the second half of 2022, as the producers finally release the remnants of the games they sat on during the pandemic.
Although strategies vary from company to company, twilight Producer Yash Raj Films (YRF) is one of the studios that has decided to forego at least three waves of Covid-19 instead of opting for a digital release. “All of our films are made for the big-screen cinematic experience, so we’re released in theaters,” says Nelson D’Souza, YRF Vice President of International Operations. “Of course there were delays due to the pandemic and the dates had to be reworked. But it also gave us time to review and plan our marketing strategy.”
And many more great titles await in the wings. Many of the big stars will have theatrical releases – check out Zee Studios in the coming months Raksha Bandhanstarring Akshay Kumar; Emir Khan forest goof redo, Laal Singh Chadhaproduced internationally by Paramount Pictures; Disney Brahmastra chapter one: ShivaAlso starring Ranbir Kapoor and Reliance’s Vikram FarewellStarring Hrithik Roshan.
This year’s Diwali holiday schedule (end of October) is also full of long overdue movies with big stars like: Ram Sethuwith Akshay Kumar Thanks GodAlong with Ajay Devgn, January’s year-end season features new titles by Ranveer Singh, Salman Khan, and Shah Rukh Khan, the first release since 2018 (see tentative schedule below).
A more cynical interpretation of the sudden theatrical enthusiasm might be that streaming platforms in India have stopped paying big bucks for digital releases. What was once a regular stream of digital broadcasts has slowed down in recent months. In fact, publishers say they prefer movie releases because they try to reduce both their purchasing budgets and marketing costs.
“Platforms are now refusing to buy directly to digital, even the prices that manufacturers could have gotten three or six months ago are no longer in the market,” explains Sarkar. “They think they’re going to buy movies anyway, so why pay the producers for the loss of theater?”
Another factor that could boost the box office is that Indian exhibitors and producers have recently agreed to an eight-week window for Hindi and Hollywood films from 1 August. While this two-month timeframe was standard before the pandemic, it has since collapsed. Four weeks or less when theaters are forced to close. “There is so much confidence now that audiences won’t be able to watch the movie right away at home, so it will be in theaters at least in the second half of the year,” Sarkar says.
International Rescue
Bollywood’s traditional foreign markets such as the US, UK and the Middle East, which have begun to more closely reflect what’s going on in the mainstream in the last six months, are also hopeful for recovery. “There was a time when some films were successful in international markets and others were considered friendly films abroad. But in the last six months, movies have been releasing in India as well as abroad,” says Kapadia. He adds that social media, Whatsapp messaging, and changing immigration patterns are connecting Indian audiences in the US more closely, despite seeing more of the Hindi dubs than the original versions. a movie like KGF: Part 2 It’s a box office hit abroad because it’s a blockbuster in India.”
Given India’s relatively low screen count, busy schedule and high price tag, questions remain about what will happen to smaller films, especially as the economy of getting a movie in theaters often doesn’t increase even before it’s released. The producers say that they will not stop giving the green light to these films, which they can lose by selling on digital platforms and satellites. However, they expect more and more pressure from platforms to bear the risk and expense of theatrical releases. That’s risky because “there are movies that viewers think they can expect to see at home, so you don’t even get to the box office on the first day, let alone the first weekend,” Sarkar explains.
Kapadia, who is also a producer and owns R. Balki’s psychological thriller to shut up The future acknowledges that smaller films will still be shot: “But don’t even think about not having a strong story because audiences get great content in Korean, Iranian, Malayalam and other languages in their living room, so you have to work hard. It’s harder to engage them.”
As for tents, tickets go on sale in advance from Wednesday night. twilight they beat them Bhul Bhulaya 2 According to local business analysts. Therefore, it is not just a wish for Indian producers to think that good times are coming back for Bollywood movies, although there are many challenges.
2022 H2 Indian Movies Release Schedule (subject to change):
July 22: twilight (Yash Raj Films), starring Ranbir Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Vaani Kapoor
29 July: Ek Villain is back (Balaji Motion Pictures and T-Series), John Abraham, Arjun Kapoor
August 11: Laal Singh Chadha (Aamir Khan Productions and Viacom18), Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor
August 11: Raksha Bandhan (Zee Studios), Akshay Kumar, Bhumi Pednekar
September 9: Brahmastra chapter one: Shiva (Star Studios and Dharma Productions), Amitabh Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt
September 30: Vikram Farewell (Trust and T-series), Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan
October 24: – Ram Sethu (Abundance and Amazon Prime), Akshay Kumar
October 24: – Thanks God (Series T), Ajay Devgn
November 18: – Drishyam 2 (T series and Viacom18), Ajay Devgn
December 23: circus (Trust and T series), Ranveer Singh
December 30: Kabhi Eid Kabhi Independence Day (grandson of Salman Khan Films and Nadiadwala), Salman Khan
January 11, 2023: Adipuruş* (T-series and Retrophiles), Prabhas, Saif Ali Khan
January 23, 2023: Muttley (Yash Raj Films), Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone
* Filmed simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu
Source: Deadline
Lloyd Grunewald is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. He is a talented writer who focuses on bringing the latest entertainment-related news to his readers. With a deep understanding of the entertainment industry and a passion for writing, Lloyd delivers engaging articles that keep his readers informed and entertained.
