Whether it was on account of IPL or bad releases or the economic downturn, the Indian film industry did slow down in 2008, growing by 12-13%, compared with the 17% growth of previous years. But weighed against Hollywood?s 2% domestic gross growth, this scene appears positively buoyant. Over here, we heard about George Soros putting stakes in ADAG, which also lured in Steven Spielberg?s new studio. With Warner Brothers? Chandni Chowk to China, we saw a major US studio releasing a Bollywood movie in North America for the first time, opening it across 50 cities. Over there, the same studio announced job cuts along with other media companies like Viacom, Paramount?s owner. Most major studios have also started downsizing their specialty divisions, something that almost rendered Slumdog Millionaire one of those straight-to-DVD frogs. Thankfully, when Time Warner shut down its small-picture division, the film was passed on to Fox Searchlight. It?s classic irony that the same market turbulence that had rocked its fortunes when young, went on to win acclaim when the film matured for release. Hope pulling off a coup over poor odds equals eight Oscars, cosmically the exact same number won by Gandhi.
It?s reported that some Hollywood insiders are grumbling about the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences becoming too foreign and indie oriented, ignoring the sounds of the box office. Classic example: Warner Brothers? The Dark Knight didn?t get a best picture nomination despite becoming the second $500-million domestic grosser ever. But its making and marketing possibly cost in excess of $200 million. The contrast to Slumdog couldn?t be more jarring. Made with just $15 million in a market where marketing even an indie film now costs more than $25 million, it had taken in $43.9 million in receipts before amassing the Oscar nominations. Now closing in on the $100-million mark, it?s gotten the biggest post-Oscar bump since Million
Dollar Baby. What looked more like a classic Oscar choice, Paramount and Warner?s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button not only won in only three of the 13 categories in which it was nominated, but it?s domestic totals are still $25 million short of a $150 million pricetag. The Indian film industry cannot claim Slumdog?s triumph as entirely its own. But it puts into popular focus something that Hollywood studios had already started accounting for in their business decisions: that both Indian cinema?s language and market will no longer remain retired at the global fringes.