An eventful 2007 has just gone by, producing a new set of revelations for the Indian and American film industry. Let?s take a look at Hollywood first.
The top performers in the UK & US were the eagerly anticipated sequels?Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix, Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World?s End and Shrek The Third. Other titles to deliver impressive grosses included Transformers, The Bourne Ultimatum, Stardust, The Simpsons Movie, Die Hard 4.0, Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer, Ratatouille, Enchanted, Spiderman?3, The Pursuit Of Happyness and Superbad.
The UK enjoyed a path-breaking 2007 with total box-office takings at ?904 million, up 8% from 2006, and the highest in the history of the country. It was also a heartening year for UK-bred films?six of the top 20 films of the year were UK productions or co-productions? Harry Potter, The Golden Compass, Mr Bean?s Holiday, Hot Fuzz, Stardust and Atonement.
This year sees the return of several popular franchises including Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, The Incredible Hulk, The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Bond 22 and Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince.
Bollywood masala
It was a mildly disappointing year for Bollywood compared to 2006. Shah Rukh Khan conquered the overseas box-office with Om Shanti Om, which, incidentally, was the only film to cross the million mark in the UK, as opposed to the four in 2006?Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, Don, Dhoom:2 and Fanaa. Other titles to deliver impressive grosses in the UK?not only in absolute terms but also in conjunction with their acquisition price, number of prints and marketing spend?included Welcome, Partner, Namaste London, Ta Ra Rum Pum, Heyy Babyy, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Jab We Met and Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd. This was much the case in the UAE as well, which has emerged as a hot market to watch out for. Guru found a heartening reception in the US & Canada, and despite a number of flops, regional cinema found reason to smile with the super success of Rajanikanth?s Tamil outing, Sivaji?The Boss.
With four money-spinning releases in 2007 and a crackling cameo in Om Shanti Om, Akshay Kumar was the darling of the international Asian hoi polloi, followed by Shahid Kapoor who sprung a pleasant surprise with Jab We Met, his highest-ever overseas grosser.
In 2008, it will hopefully rain in the parched film backyard. Industry hopes stand pinned on some of the major releases as Jodhaa Akbar, Race, Tashan, Chandni Chowk To China, Aamir Khan?s remake of Ghajini, Kidnap, Golmaal Returns and Singh Is Kinng, to name only a few.
Good luck to the new year box-office!
The author is head of UK & Europe?International Motion Pictures?at Studio 18.
He may be reached at garg.tan@gmail.com