The dream run goes on

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When Spiderman 3 hit theatres in May last year, Sony Pictures Releasing India (SPRI) released 588 prints of the film in the country, including 261 in Hindi, 162 in English and, for the first time ever, a dub in Bhojpuri (six prints) with Bhojpuri superhero Ravi Kishen lending his voice to Tobey Maguire’s Spidey. The film had a record opening weekend — Rs 19.17 crore — and went on to become Hollywood’s top grosser in India (Rs 68.06 crore) ever, surpassing Titanic. Spiderman 3 apart, with other films like Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Die Hard 4 (Warner Brothers), Pirates of the Caribbean 3 (Disney) and Ghost Rider (SPRI) too fared very well at the box-office.

It’s clearly been one of Hollywood’s best years in India. The dream run actually started four years ago, when Hollywood films grossed Rs 170 crore at the box-office. In 2005, Hollywood studios — there are three in India at the moment, SPRI, Warner Brothers and UIP — released 55 films and grossed Rs 180 crore at the BO. In 2006, 74 foreign films were released, and value of ticket sales touched Rs 240 crore. In 2007, according to industry estimates, BO collections should cross Rs 310 crore — final figures are yet to come in — making it the biggest year for Hollywood in India. “For us, it was a record year. All the big franchises, from Harry Potter to Ocean’s 13, fired in a big way,” says Sanjay Narayanan, director, marketing Warner Brothers Pictures. For SPRI too, year 2007 was big as it crossed the Rs 100 crore mark in ticket sales for the fourth time in a six years. “We made history once again,” says Vikramjit Roy, head of publicity, SPRI.

Growth factors

There are various reasons why Hollywood films are faring so well at the domestic box-office. “The sheer variety in content is ensuring footfalls increase at theatres,” says an analyst. Last year, there were blockbusters like Spiderman 3, Pirates of the Caribbean 3, Harry Potter, 300 and “differentiated products” like Ratatouille, Surf’s Up, Perfect Stranger, Curse of the Golden Flower and I am Legend.