 "Viacom 18 hops screens, hopes audiences follow")
Undeterred by the lukewarm response that Indian animation films have garnered at the box office so far, or by the poor showing of sitcoms on the big screen, Viacom 18 is launching a movie based on animated television characters Motu Patlu. The studio that has a few large brands associating with the movie believes it can buck the trend given the popularity of the characters and the growing appeal of local content among Indian children.
The film releases on October 14 and is expected to have about nine brands on board, but the studio is unwilling to commit to the names or a number, citing tight non-disclosure clauses that they have signed with the companies. The television show currently has McVitie's, Mother Dairy and Pratap Snacks as license partners.
In India, despite the efforts of big studios and big bucks, the journey from small to big screen has been a hard one, even more so for animated shows. What gives Viacom 18 the confidence to go where others have failed?
Motu Patlu is one of the first animation properties developed in-house at Viacom18. Its popularity has grown steadily; according to the studio's analysis based on data from BARC, its contribution to the gross TV viewership in thousands (GTVT) for the kids' universe has grown from 12 per cent in FY2014 to 33 per cent in FY2016. The studio has also made movies for the small screen based on these characters and reaped the rewards from Motu Patlu branded merchandise.
The TV movies have been successful and lent significantly to the channels' ratings. "Also, having tried not one or two, but 10 movies we know there is an audience," says Vats. He was further reassured when his team found that the franchise contributed almost 25 per cent to the total kids' viewership on VOOT.
Besides, the studio believes, the environment for kids content is changing. According to the FICCI-KPMG report on media and entertainment for 2016, television is the largest consumer of animation in India but the share of films and other media too is growing. The report also said that increasing viewership of local shows is prompting broadcasters to relook at their content mix which used to be skewed towards international programming. Another sign of the increasing maturity of the genre in India has been the rush of brands, even non-kids, wanting to associate with such shows. For Viacom 18's Nickelodeon, the report says that nearly 45 per cent of total sponsorship comes from non-kids' brands.
Popularity is not measured by brand associations alone. Viewership numbers, as indicated by BARC data, also place the show consistently as the top-most watched programmed in the genre. It is this that has perhaps prompted the studio to go in for a grand release strategy for the movie, King of Kings. It will release in 700 screens across the country in Hindi and Tamil. This is among the widest releases for an Indian animation film, at par with international releases such as Angry Birds Movie, Zootopia and Kung Fu Panda3.
Jiggy George, founder and CEO, Dream Theatre however feels that there are challenges for such cinematic adaptations. He says, "There are two things. One, unlike the West, or even Japan, animated movies are still mainly a kid's play and the appeal is not truly family appeal. Secondly, shows in the West are not usually dailies and movies are released between two seasons. Here, there is enough content on TV. So one may ask, why should I watch it in the theatre?"
Internationally, such films have been the norm for a few years now, the concept being popularised by Disney that strategically develops its television shows and films as multimedia properties. Some Disney TV shows that did well at the box office include, Lizzie McGuire (played by Hillary Duff) and Hannah Montana (played by Miley Cyrus). Disney's animated characters have also been adapted to the big and small screen and the transition has also been reversed with some movies finding an extended life as a TV show.
In India, however the highly popular Chota Bheem show did not fare well when it was made into a movie. Although the Angry Birds game made into a movie which came out in May made around Rs 16 crore in India (industry estimates). Other experiments with turning Indian television (non-animation) shows into movies have also come a cropper. Take for example 'Office Office', the theatrical version of a popular sitcom or 'Khichdi', both received mixed reviews and low box office collections.
Vats says that his is more of a kid's genre strategy for the network and given that the market has matured significantly, the timing is perfect. "Also, as a studio we have always been cautious and selective. We are the youngest studio to be profitable and consistently so," he says. He must have his fingers crossed that the studio's past sucesses will help crack a market that other Indian studios and filmmakers have burnt their fingers in.
The film releases on October 14 and is expected to have about nine brands on board, but the studio is unwilling to commit to the names or a number, citing tight non-disclosure clauses that they have signed with the companies. The television show currently has McVitie's, Mother Dairy and Pratap Snacks as license partners.
In India, despite the efforts of big studios and big bucks, the journey from small to big screen has been a hard one, even more so for animated shows. What gives Viacom 18 the confidence to go where others have failed?
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"For us, it is about adding yet another touch-point where the characters can be accessed by audiences. The kids entertainment eco-system is mature enough today and the popularity of the property has been tested on TV and on digital with VOOT," explains Viacom 18 CEO Sudhanshu Vats.
Motu Patlu is one of the first animation properties developed in-house at Viacom18. Its popularity has grown steadily; according to the studio's analysis based on data from BARC, its contribution to the gross TV viewership in thousands (GTVT) for the kids' universe has grown from 12 per cent in FY2014 to 33 per cent in FY2016. The studio has also made movies for the small screen based on these characters and reaped the rewards from Motu Patlu branded merchandise.
The TV movies have been successful and lent significantly to the channels' ratings. "Also, having tried not one or two, but 10 movies we know there is an audience," says Vats. He was further reassured when his team found that the franchise contributed almost 25 per cent to the total kids' viewership on VOOT.
Besides, the studio believes, the environment for kids content is changing. According to the FICCI-KPMG report on media and entertainment for 2016, television is the largest consumer of animation in India but the share of films and other media too is growing. The report also said that increasing viewership of local shows is prompting broadcasters to relook at their content mix which used to be skewed towards international programming. Another sign of the increasing maturity of the genre in India has been the rush of brands, even non-kids, wanting to associate with such shows. For Viacom 18's Nickelodeon, the report says that nearly 45 per cent of total sponsorship comes from non-kids' brands.
Popularity is not measured by brand associations alone. Viewership numbers, as indicated by BARC data, also place the show consistently as the top-most watched programmed in the genre. It is this that has perhaps prompted the studio to go in for a grand release strategy for the movie, King of Kings. It will release in 700 screens across the country in Hindi and Tamil. This is among the widest releases for an Indian animation film, at par with international releases such as Angry Birds Movie, Zootopia and Kung Fu Panda3.
Jiggy George, founder and CEO, Dream Theatre however feels that there are challenges for such cinematic adaptations. He says, "There are two things. One, unlike the West, or even Japan, animated movies are still mainly a kid's play and the appeal is not truly family appeal. Secondly, shows in the West are not usually dailies and movies are released between two seasons. Here, there is enough content on TV. So one may ask, why should I watch it in the theatre?"
Internationally, such films have been the norm for a few years now, the concept being popularised by Disney that strategically develops its television shows and films as multimedia properties. Some Disney TV shows that did well at the box office include, Lizzie McGuire (played by Hillary Duff) and Hannah Montana (played by Miley Cyrus). Disney's animated characters have also been adapted to the big and small screen and the transition has also been reversed with some movies finding an extended life as a TV show.
In India, however the highly popular Chota Bheem show did not fare well when it was made into a movie. Although the Angry Birds game made into a movie which came out in May made around Rs 16 crore in India (industry estimates). Other experiments with turning Indian television (non-animation) shows into movies have also come a cropper. Take for example 'Office Office', the theatrical version of a popular sitcom or 'Khichdi', both received mixed reviews and low box office collections.
Vats says that his is more of a kid's genre strategy for the network and given that the market has matured significantly, the timing is perfect. "Also, as a studio we have always been cautious and selective. We are the youngest studio to be profitable and consistently so," he says. He must have his fingers crossed that the studio's past sucesses will help crack a market that other Indian studios and filmmakers have burnt their fingers in.