Do reviews matter? Not a lot if the recent crop of Bolly films is anything to go by. The age-old debate about whether a review can make or break a film is seemingly reaching some conclusion what with reasonably glowing reviews for Sankat City, Quick Gun Murugan, Kaminey and many others not translating into the anticipated numbers. Kaminey opened to an exceptionally strong response but plummeted within days. Sankat City and Quick Gun Murugan fetched positive reviews even from the high-brow critics despite which the opening grosses were abysmal.
Clearly, the mass audience was not in agreement with the encomiums showered upon these films by the fourth estate.
The big question that studios around the world have started asking in their boardroom meetings is whether the critics? strategy needs to be re-looked. For unapologetic mindlessly entertaining commercial features that are bound to get a thumbs-down from snooty critics it might be more appropriate for studios to scrap press previews and let the paying audience make up their mind than affect the opening weekend by poisonous critiques. The alternative strategy is to show the film only to select media that cater to the potential target audience of the film.
Recently, Paramount Pictures took a bold step by deciding not to screen the $175 million GI Joe: The Rise Of Cobra to conventional critics. The film plays well to mainstream audiences and fearing stinging reviews from the regular lot of critics the studio opened the film for fan-boy Web sites such as Ain?t-It-Cool-News, Hitflix, Dark Horizons, Chud and JoBlo. The ploy worked well as the film fetched strong reviews and benefitted from positive word of mouth among the teen and pre-teen boys for whom it was designed.
Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen grossed almost $400 million in North America alone despite stinging reviews. Paramount decided there was no upside from having negative press during opening week and in stead pre-screened it extensively in the heartland of the US?at air-force bases and Midwestern cities?far from the evil scrutiny of the New York or Los Angeles media. Evidently, along with brand collaboration, media buying and PR strategy, critics? planning has turned into a key area for film marketers.
India at Toronto
The ongoing Toronto International Film Festival features three films from India making their world premiere. Indian films have always formed an integral part of the festival largely to do with the fact that an enormous Asian Diaspora reside in Canada making ticket sales an easier exercise. (Toronto is a people?s festival as opposed to Cannes, which is industry-based.) Two forthcoming Bollywood features, What?s Your Rashee and Dil Bole Hadippa will premiere while the Dev Benegal-directed Road, Movie starring Abhay Deol and Tannishtha Chatterjee, presented by Indian Films and represented by Fortissimo Films has been invited to premiere as a special presentation at the posh Winter Garden Theatre.
?The author heads marketing, syndication & distribution for the UK & Europe at Studio 18, and can be reached on garg.tan@gmail.com
