Hindustan Times
To release or not to release
Everyone’s been going on and on about the Diwali releases this year (three of them – Main Aur Mrs Khanna, All The Best and Blue). The film trade considers Diwali a very favourable time to release films. Producers think that people are in the mood to go out, spend money, have fun. Ergo, their films will do good business.
But does it really matter when a film releases? Does a film’s performance depend significantly on when exactly it’s out in theatres? People in Bollywood believe that there are certain periods – like exam time, shraadh, the IPL season etc – when it is almost suicidal to release films. They also believe that it’s not the best idea in the world to release your film when there’s another big film scheduled, because revenues tend to get divided.
On the other hand, there are other periods – like Diwali, the summer holidays, Id etc – when everyone scrambles to get their films out.
Of course, I can’t remember exactly when so-and-so hit released; nor can I remember when so-and-so flop released (yes, I know many Shah Rukh films had Diwali releases, but did they do well because they hit the theatres on Diwali? Wouldn’t they have done well anyway?) Perhaps if one were to do a statistical study, one could reach some conclusions. But common sense tells me that by and large, if you have a good film/if audiences like your film, nothing in the world can prevent it from doing well. Or, if a big star, someone who is a terrific draw at the box office, has a major film coming up, it’s safe to assume that it will get a blockbuster opening at the very least. (Superstars like Shah Rukh and Aamir usually have just one or two films a year; obviously audiences will rush to the theatres when these films finally arrive in cinema halls).
So why all the trauma about release times? I think it’s because even if revenues get affected slightly, it’s bad news for producers. Every ticket counts. And revenues may definitely get affected a little if you release your film at a time when families aren’t going out much because their kids are in the middle of exams. And maybe even an average film gets a bit of a fillip during, say, Diwali, because people are in the mood to go out (they’ve got their bonuses, they’re in a celebratory frame of mind etc).
Or maybe it’s just conventional wisdom that’s come down over the years and people tend to follow such tenets blindly?
Or maybe it’s because it gives producers an excuse to explain their film’s poor performance? Because, let’s face it, most films flop. Just a few make the grade. Yup, showbiz is one of the most precarious businesses in the world, where no one knows what will work and what won’t and why. Hence, this heavy dependence on extraneous factors.
So let’s wait and see what happens to the three Diwali releases this year. Hit? Ya flop?
(5 votes, average: 4.4 out of 5)
Loading ...Posted by Poonam Saxena on Monday, October 12, 2009 at 8:16 pm
Filed under Bollywood · Tagged All The Best and Blue, Bollywood, diwali, Diwali releases, hindustan time, Main Aur Mrs Khanna, s news
Am not sure about this but I remember reading this sumwhr that why ‘jab v met’ didn’t bcum tat big a hit which it could have been was because of its bad timing…….Read that in sum newspaper article oly…….
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I don’t think Diwali or Holi has anything to do with it. The film should have a good story with a decent direction. Along with JWM in 2007 quite a few low budget films were released without much fan fare.Johny Gadar, Manorma Six feet Under. Both did good business and were critically very well received. In 2008 Oye Lucky Lucky Oye was release back to back with Ghajini. The former was a greater hit. Two good big budget films are released simultaneously, Gadar (Sunny Deol) and Lagan (Aamir) both did good business. Like a new arrival there will always be some trepiditions at the time of release. Keep your fingers crossed. There always is a luck factor which no one can beat !
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Nitin Joshi Reply:
October 13th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
i will have to disagree with you! Though i believe that a good film would fare well..but timing is certainly important…lets say a movie is good..with a gud star cast..and good music..and there are board exams going on…students would not go to thetare in those times..there parents would also stay away…that segment may decide that they would weatch it later..may be on TV or DVD…so a sizeable portion of the films audience is reduced…Diwali is a favorable time when people are in a mood to splurge..summer holidays are a time when people are free and the chances that people would want to take their family for a movie outing are greater…producers want to cash on it
If the film is good it enhances its reapeat watchablity..but its realese timing brings the initial gains..which are crucila these days..where the running span of a movie is hardly a month..even if the film is not so good..say like a golmal returns..but once the initial audience is in- the money is recovered..so thats the economic part of it!!its plain business!!
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Nitin Joshi Reply:
October 13th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
@nutsure..oops….sorry..i wanted to post the above comment in general..mistakenly posted in ur reply…:)
but yes..ur point is right..but again there are certain factors associated with each of the movies u mentioned..
Johny gaddar and manorma were rather small budget movies..where the word-of-mouth worked..becoz the storyline was good..they were not very big hits anyway..
Oye lucky’s chances were also hampered bcoz of 26/11..and ghajini was a chritmas weeknd release..with 4 days of holidays.. gadar and lagaan were relased in june…summer holidays;)
and yes..luck factor too…aamir and sunny have been lucky for each other earlier too..remember how dil and ghayal released on same day and went on to become big hits…then in 1996..ghatak and raja hindustani both were released together and went on to become big hits,…the trend follwed with lagan and gadar..;)..
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poonam saxena Reply:
October 13th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
Thanks for reminding me about the clash of big films at the box office, Nitin — I had quite forgotten these examples! Now that I think about it, the other big one I can remember is when Mission Kashmir and Mohabbatein released on the same Friday. I remember seeing both films with much anticipation (Mission Kashmir was okay — Sanjay Dutt in one of his better roles, but Mohabbatein was unbearable! The entire premise was so absurd — students should fall in love, no one should stop them, why is this khadoos principal against love etc etc. Eewww.)
But to go back to the films you had mentioned, I loved Ghayal — it fully deserved to be the big hit it was. Dil is not a film I like much. Ghatak was nice, Raja Hindustani so-so, I LOVED Lagaan, but I also liked Gadar (The first ten-15 minutes of the film were so dramatic and strong, pity the last ten-15 minutes were so awful!)
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Nitin Joshi Reply:
October 14th, 2009 at 12:14 am
thanx for reminding me of dil…i must have been 4-5 yr old kid wen i watched dil on vcr(aah…those were the days..;)..it was fun..loads of melodrama;)lol
i think diwali has traditionally been sharukh’s lucky day..bazigar(93)kabhi haan kabhi na(94) ddlj(95)dtph(97)k2h2(98),mohabbatein(2000),k3g(not excatly diwali but a little later in 2001), veer zara(2004) and don and oso recently..so i m not expecting much dhamal without a shahrukh release..also,interestingly this diwali the 3 films have almost the same set of actors as in the films released during diwali 2005- Kyunki (kareena salman), garam masala(akshay kumar), and shadi no.1(sanjay dutt, zayed khan)..going by that analogy i am not expecting any fireworks..;)
Rahul K Reply:
October 13th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
What? Oye Lucky Lucky Oye was a greater hit than Ghajini?? that’s completely wrong. at that time (and i think even now) Ghajini stands as the movie with maximum revenue till date
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Its always a gamble.
So narrowing the odds by whatever means is bound to happen.
From the promos, Main aur Mrs Khanna seems most promising to me.
Any bets here??!!
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poonam saxena Reply:
October 13th, 2009 at 11:27 am
I agree, Atul, Mr and Mrs Khanna sounds the most interesting of the three releases. Blue… not exciting for me. I mean I don’t want to see a film because I want to see underwater stunts. I want to see a film for other reasons… story, acting, music, dialogues etc. All The Best sounds like your Golmaal Returns type of comedy (which I haven’t seen incidentally, so i don’t know if it’s fun or not). But as I said, let’s wait and see…
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Nitin Joshi Reply:
October 13th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
i m not eager for anyone..
Blue is giving me tashan like vibes…
Main aur mrs khanna looks like sallu-kareena’s earlier outing kyunki..that was sad..this seems upbeat..:)
all the best looks like golmaal returns…same director..same template..
i think all the best will have nothing much..and will end up earning the most ultimately..;)lol
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Somehow this time i m not in the mood to watch any movie releasing on diwali..for me more than the timing it is the movie material that matters..OSO n sawariya were released at diwali last yr..but sawariya bombed ..n v all know y! Ghajini was released much later..not at diwali..it was released sometime near december during holiday season..but that was not the reason y i watched it! I watched it coz aamir gives only 1 movie a year and i cant miss it for anything!
that wud be a treat to watch!
as for this yr releases, All the Best will b boring coz I think we have had enuff of such comedies and i CANNOT bear to see that oldie sanjay dutt..i dont understand y ppl think he is HOT when it is sooo obvious that he cannot act like a 25 yr old and shud act his age which is 50+ n ajay devgan n fardeen r not inspiring enuff for me..ajay also looks old now n i have had enuff of seeing him in comedies..high time he does smthng srs
Mr n Mrs Khanna..i have never been able to understand salman n kareena’s(apart from JWM) style of acting..so no way m going for this! even if it gets 5 stars!
Blue has sanjay dutt again ..and that is the only reason which is holding me back from watching this..lara luks like his daughter and he looks way too tired when running arnd the beach with her!!
But of all the 3..if I HAVE to watch smthng..it will be blue..coz..umm..of the underwater sequences..coz i think thats smthng new n different for indian cinema and its been ages since i saw akshay kumar do some great action..he has given us enuff mindless stupid comedies..i hope he delivers smthng sensible n exciting with Blue!
So i will wait for reviews of Blue and then watch it! and yeah all this has nothing to do with Diwali/Timing!
PS: Poonam mam, I have been searching for ur saturday TV column in HT since past 2 weeks but have been unable to spot it anywhere in the paper
have there been any recent changes to ur columns days n location in HT newspaper delhi edition?
PPS: looking at all the heroes these days, dont u think its high time that oldies like sharukh/salman/sanjay dutt etc graduate to more mature roles and give space to shahid/ranbir/imran n the likes..I m somehow tired of seeing these oldies as heroes since my childhood and its no more exciting to watch them romance girls of 20 yrs! would appreciate if u would post on this on ur blog here
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poonam saxena Reply:
October 13th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Chinz, you are right. A lot of the 40+ heroes are looking toooo old. I liked Sanjay Dutt in films like Vaastav, Munnabhai (both the movies), Kaante. But of late, he’s looking a bit, how shall I say it, jaded? A lot of these heroes act with much younger heroines because they think they’ll look younger too.
And I’m not a big Salman fan, but somehow, Main Aur Mrs Khanna sounds interesting.
(About the column, the feature pages have been coming in pullouts for the last two weeks, not in the main paper. Hopefully the pages — which includes my column — will be back in the main paper this week onwards!)
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and yeah 1 more reason y i appreciate the underwater sequences is coz i have v recently learnt swimming..and had a strong fear of deep water..which i have overcome now..so i understand that underwater is not at all like on earth..so I really appreciate the courage to do such stunts
baaki i will still wait for reviews and then decide on watchin blue!
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hey poonam mam, quality of your blog is deterorating day by day(no offence), you started great like mahabharta, hollywood vs bollywood,srk vs amir,slumdog, songs, etclook at the post genenarated by those.now days wake up sid(20 post) frankly it was not path breakin film, shaid kapoor, now this “to relaease or no to release”, frankly speaking it not worth debating, what’s the fun if there were no two participant with or against it
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Hi. Once again, nicely written. But I have a question. You said if a movie is good, nothing can prevent it from being a hit. But as you know, this years two movies which were very well appreciated by critics (and I LOVED them)– Dev D and Kaminey, haven’t done too well at the box office. Stupid comedy films fared better than them, which is sad.
You’ve stated some reasons and questions too,in an earlier post, regarding why Kaminey isn’t drawing people at the box office. Even they were valid reasons. So timing definitely affects movie revenues, but bombarding the box office with so many films at the same time doesn’t help either.
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poonam saxena Reply:
October 13th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Rahul, I cheated in my post — I said if a movie is good/if audiences like your movie! Because alas, we all know that ‘good’ films don’t always run. Like the two you mentioned — Dev D and Kaminey (I loved both of them too). Or Luck By Chance which I thought was wonderful but which was rejected at the box office. (Many people told me it was very slow; I’m foxed by this! I mean, sure, the pace was leisurely but it’s not a thriller or an adventure story or anyhting, so why should it be fast-paced?)
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well..i think all three e gonna be boring n disappointing…there is no buzz at all for these three films this year on diwali..infact they dont deserve 2 be diwali releases at all…i was thinking that may be i will go 4 main aur mrs. khanna..but after seeing its latest promos..n seeing how lousy kareena,sallu n sohail r acting,,i will surely give it a miss.blue has got 3 best actors of this industry-akki,sanju n zayed(wink..wink)..but thank u very much–not interested!! all d best is a stict no no 4 me coz i fear 4 my eyes since the very colourful promos r already making me blind!! so all n all m just gonna enjoy this festive season at my own home!!
p.s. eagerly waiting 4 kurbaan,paa n ofcourse 3 idiots..they r goin 2 be the movies of this year!!!
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poonam saxena Reply:
October 14th, 2009 at 10:44 am
Mansi, I was also struck by the blinding colours of the All The Best promos, but you know, I quite like that!
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Yes, a ‘good film’ should work any time, but…does it always happen?
Of course there is the subjective angle about a ‘good film’, however in many cases you know you have a good thing going - star presence, story that flows - takes you on a journey, and good music + songs.
But despite every thing this is the age of the opening weekend - you need to play it safe and cover your base.
Would ‘Wake Up Sid’ remain a good film if it didn’t play in Maharashtra? Yes. Would it have remained a ‘hit’ if KJ had not touched the feet of Raj? Well…no.
Is ‘Luck By Chance’ a hit? For the producers, yes. For the distrubutors, no - despite the film doing well in plexes it was bought at too high a price, which was never recovered. Was it a good film. Guess many would say, yes.
There is a lot riding on a film, and you want to, have to play it safe - utilize the long weekends, get going on festivals…You also are not sure at times how the film shall fare later, how the critics would review it (which could generate some sort of a word-of-mouth) and so…you want to maximize your gains on the opening weekend (fri, sat and sun.)
Of course we don’t talk about the small producer with a small cast. He may have a ‘very good film’ and end up losing moolah - he can’t compete with the biggies - he won’t get the right shows - he can’t promote enough - he would get decent reviews but…not enough momentum for masses. Even if people want to see the flick, the shows won’t be in your favor. And by the time you get into the 2nd week - you are royally messed-up since now the number of films you are up against is crazy.
Of course - aur aapki film mein koi khan nahin hai…naa hi priyanaka, kareena or katrina, or…what ever bull from exhibitors, but then…they have a point.
Did Gulal make money for Zee? Did Sankat City make money for it’s producers/distributors? Not sure. It’s quite messy out there.
And that’s another thing - majority of good flicks are not path-breaking ones; of course it’s so tough to make one!
So yes…you have to run very fast, pitch very quick, and try getting the wickets in the first 3-days or what ever you can manage, else…you would be back in the pavilion with nothing to show for.
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poonam saxena Reply:
October 14th, 2009 at 10:52 am
I like the cricket analogy, Sunil! And yes, the whole box office game has changed. The days when a film would have a silver jubilee or a golden jubilee are over. Now the idea is to make as much money as you can during the opening. If you’re lucky, you may even recover your cost in those first few days. That’s why all the big, very expensive films create a kind of hysteria around the movie — they’ve got to have people thronging the theatres on that weekend. If the opening is — as the trade guys say — “dull” then they’re finished. (If they’re very lucky and their film catches on, then the crowds will keep coming)
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hi poonam,
the buzz or rather the lack of it around the diwali releases are def giving me the heebie jeebies. one reason could be that all the actors jostling for marquee space are senior citizens. everyone of them looks plastic. sanjay, salman, akshay and ajay look over the hill and the actresses like kareena and bipasha are so hyped that even they must be sickened. add to it paucity of content and you’ll see why most people would rather stay home. but then the movie moghuls hardly target us do they, or else why would golmaal returns be considered a hit?
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Marketing is the secret sauce. Dev D and Kaminey were great movies. They did fair at the BO. Why did Wanted to better at the BO even though the movie wasn’t the same caliber as the other two?
Simple: it’s all marketing.
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