 "Disney wears a profitable movie producer's hat")
In a year when Bollywood struggled to keep pace at the box office, Disney's movie production unit emerged as a profitable studio with a sizeable number of releases. It, of course, had the blockbuster, PK, on its hands, but at the same time it ensured its bet on low key movies paid off.
No other studio was able to strike such a balance between a large of number releases and profitability. While Viacom18 was way ahead in profitability, it had just two movies, Fox which had a comparable slate, was not as profitable. Disney claims its market share for Bollywood increased from 28 per cent in 2013 to 31 per cent in 2014, as a result.
The studio released eight films last year, with an estimated expenditure of Rs 313 crore. These films collected a total of Rs 835 crore at the box office, giving an overall return on investment (RoI) to the tune of 143 per cent. However, the producer's share (after deducting the distributors' share) came to Rs 485 crore, which meant a RoI of 55 per cent. Its production cost of the year got recovered through one movie itself, PK that made a net revenue of Rs 340 crore. However, keeping the Aamir Khan-starrer aside, Disney's studio group would still have raked in an RoI of around 40 per cent, according to estimates.
Industry experts credit the all-round performance to the marketing chops of the group, which the Indian audience witnessed even in pre-Disney days of what was then Ronnie Screwala-backed UTV Motion Pictures.
"If you see the slate, except for Kick and PK, all the movies had new or less-known actors than the Khans. 2 States was a 'masala' film, but had a lead pair which had less than five films between the two of them. That is where its marketing power comes in," says a distributor who worked closely with the studio.
Amrita Pandey, vice-president and head of marketing and distribution (studios), Disney India, says, "The slate is important. Variety was a big driver for us in 2014. There were some risks. For example, while movies like Haider, Highway and Heropanti look like ideal bets, there was a lot of unpredictability attached to each. The challenge was to work around this and make the projects as commercially viable as possible".
"In case of Disney India, the marketing has been 360-degree and consistent throughout the slate. Whether it is a Haider or a Heropanti, the marketing adapted itself to the content," the distributor adds.
For PK, UTV Motion Pictures (a brand now under Disney's movie production outfit in India) took the route of creating intrigue around the story line. It focused on the many avatars that Aamir Khan sported in its teasers.
Pandey agrees that the mount and release of a movie is important, too. At times, it also entails going off the beaten path. "For example, with Kick, we took a huge risk releasing it on the weekend before Eid. It went on to become the highest grosser of the year (till PK released in December)," says Pandey. Kick collected a total of Rs 233 crore net in India at the theatres.
The studio is also following in the footsteps of its global parent by operating three studio brands. While UTV Motion Pictures continues to produce movies like PK and Kick, the studio revived the Disney brand through Khoobsurat last year. The third brand is UTV Spotboy which caters to the younger, edgier audience.
The parent company, Disney releases movies under Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Lucas Films. Disney India brings many movies under these banners as part of its Hollywood slate. "However, we don't choose movies based on what brand they fit into. We choose movies for the content and economics. After that we see which brand will best market the movie," says Pandey.
The studio is now gearing up for its second Hollywood release of the year, Marvel' Avengers: Age of Ultron which hits the screens on April 24. Its first Bollywood release will come in the form of ABCD 2, followed by a slew of movies such as Disney's Jagga Jasoos, Fitoor (director: Abhishek Kapoor) and Tamashaa (director Imtiaz Ali).
No other studio was able to strike such a balance between a large of number releases and profitability. While Viacom18 was way ahead in profitability, it had just two movies, Fox which had a comparable slate, was not as profitable. Disney claims its market share for Bollywood increased from 28 per cent in 2013 to 31 per cent in 2014, as a result.
The studio released eight films last year, with an estimated expenditure of Rs 313 crore. These films collected a total of Rs 835 crore at the box office, giving an overall return on investment (RoI) to the tune of 143 per cent. However, the producer's share (after deducting the distributors' share) came to Rs 485 crore, which meant a RoI of 55 per cent. Its production cost of the year got recovered through one movie itself, PK that made a net revenue of Rs 340 crore. However, keeping the Aamir Khan-starrer aside, Disney's studio group would still have raked in an RoI of around 40 per cent, according to estimates.
Industry experts credit the all-round performance to the marketing chops of the group, which the Indian audience witnessed even in pre-Disney days of what was then Ronnie Screwala-backed UTV Motion Pictures.
"If you see the slate, except for Kick and PK, all the movies had new or less-known actors than the Khans. 2 States was a 'masala' film, but had a lead pair which had less than five films between the two of them. That is where its marketing power comes in," says a distributor who worked closely with the studio.
Amrita Pandey, vice-president and head of marketing and distribution (studios), Disney India, says, "The slate is important. Variety was a big driver for us in 2014. There were some risks. For example, while movies like Haider, Highway and Heropanti look like ideal bets, there was a lot of unpredictability attached to each. The challenge was to work around this and make the projects as commercially viable as possible".
"In case of Disney India, the marketing has been 360-degree and consistent throughout the slate. Whether it is a Haider or a Heropanti, the marketing adapted itself to the content," the distributor adds.
For PK, UTV Motion Pictures (a brand now under Disney's movie production outfit in India) took the route of creating intrigue around the story line. It focused on the many avatars that Aamir Khan sported in its teasers.
Pandey agrees that the mount and release of a movie is important, too. At times, it also entails going off the beaten path. "For example, with Kick, we took a huge risk releasing it on the weekend before Eid. It went on to become the highest grosser of the year (till PK released in December)," says Pandey. Kick collected a total of Rs 233 crore net in India at the theatres.
The studio is also following in the footsteps of its global parent by operating three studio brands. While UTV Motion Pictures continues to produce movies like PK and Kick, the studio revived the Disney brand through Khoobsurat last year. The third brand is UTV Spotboy which caters to the younger, edgier audience.
The parent company, Disney releases movies under Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Lucas Films. Disney India brings many movies under these banners as part of its Hollywood slate. "However, we don't choose movies based on what brand they fit into. We choose movies for the content and economics. After that we see which brand will best market the movie," says Pandey.
The studio is now gearing up for its second Hollywood release of the year, Marvel' Avengers: Age of Ultron which hits the screens on April 24. Its first Bollywood release will come in the form of ABCD 2, followed by a slew of movies such as Disney's Jagga Jasoos, Fitoor (director: Abhishek Kapoor) and Tamashaa (director Imtiaz Ali).