The market generates 40-45 per cent of the overseas collections for Bollywood films
Dubai’s debt woes have got Bollywood producers and distributors worried as the city is a significant contributor in the West Asian market for Hindi films.
The Dubai premiere of upcoming Bollywood film Paa, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan, has already been put on hold, though the film’s co-producer, Reliance Big Pictures, attributes this to logistical constraints.
According to trade experts, the overseas market is crucial for the business of several Bollywood releases that are lined up, including De Dana Dan, Radio, Rocket Singh, Paa and 3 Idiots, with the Gulf region being a significant market. “Over Rs 50 crore is riding on these films, with the overseas market expected to generate at least 25-30 per cent collections for these films,” says a Mumbai-based trade expert.
According to distributors, the Dubai market generates 40-45 per cent of the overall overseas collections for Bollywood films. Any major movie starring Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachchan or Akshay Kumar typically generates gross collections of Rs 35-40 crore in the overseas market.
The Gulf, US and UK together account for over 70 per cent of the overseas collections for any Bollywood film. Of this, West Asia’s contribution is always among the top two overseas markets, says Hiren Gada, director, Shemaroo films, a movie production and distribution company that is a significant player in the home video market.
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“Bollywood films do very well in Dubai’s 40-50 screens. Blue, the Akshay Kumar-starrer action film, recently did its best business in the Gulf market,” says Gada, whose company had the international distribution rights for the film.
Indians comprise nearly 40 per cent of the expat population in Dubai and they are cautiously spending on movies, says a senior executive working for a movie and video distributing agency in Dubai. “I am not an expert on real estate. But it is too early to talk about the impact on the Bollywood market in Dubai,” says Khushi Khatwani, the promoter of Al-Mansoor, a movie distribution company and a distributor of major Bollywood films in Dubai.
Agrees Jawahar Sharma, the head of international distribution, Reliance Big Pictures: “People will spend on movies even in recession, as evident from the box office collections in the US, despite the financial crisis last year. But the frequency of going to the theatre for watching movies may come down.”