Singh is Kinng screens record 155 paid previews, Rock On!! releases more prints post-previews.
A done thing in Hollywood, paid previews are now grabbing the attention of Bollywood. Indian film makers are using it as a smart strategy to pull audiences to theatres to ensure good opening day and weekend collections.
A paid preview performance is a movie shown to the audience at a nominal fee a day before its release to know their verdict. It needs no mention that the marketing strategy by production houses helps add a phenomenal amount to its kitty in the final tally.
For instance, industry sources say Singh is Kinng is learnt to have created a record by earning Rs 50 lakh through its 155 paid previews across the country and over Rs 10 lakh from its paid previews in the overseas markets.
While it’s becoming a common practice today, the trend of making a movie available to the public a day before its mass release has caught up like wild fire in India in recent years.
“Paid previews are doing extremely well today as the audience gets excited at the prospect of watching a film a day before its release. In fact, it also ensures a succesful weekend for the movie as more people get pulled towards it through word of mouth. We had released 1000 prints of Rock On!! on the first day, which went up to 1250 in the following days, thanks to the great previews that got a great response,” says Ritesh Sidhwani, producer of the recently released Rock On!!, which got a total collection of Rs 10 lakh through its paid previews.
“Paid previews always work. In fact the success of a paid preview depends a great deal on how confident a producer is. Normally big films like Singh is Kinng or Rock On!! get a full house well in advance even in non-metros. And even if the tickets are priced at a premium rate, they are not more than the weekend rates. Even a production house like Yash Raj films, which does not need such strategies, had for the first time arranged a paid preview of its recent release Bachna Ae Haseeno,” says Ashish Saxena, CEO of PVR Pictures.
And the audience is also soaking in the fresh experience of seeing a movie without reading any review, before official ‘First Day First Show’. “Paid previews are another version of a ‘First Day First Show’and as people are waiting for the release of a particular film, a paid preview helps build curiosity around it. Die-hard film fans rejoice at the prospect of getting to watch a much anticipated movie like Om Shanti Om or Welcome or even Singh is Kinng. But the same would not work for films like Mukhbir or Mumbai Meri Jaan,” says Indu Mirani, trade analyst and film critic.
Also called sneak peaks or sneak previews, paid previews are going packed to capacity even in the non metros.
“The pricing of a ticket is a collaborated decision between the production houses and the cinemas. The fact that paid previews are doing well showcases the maturity of the film industry. Newer cinemas are opening up in every city. Paid previews on a weekday are a great publicity platform to make the weekend shows stronger,” says Tushar Dhingra, Chief Operating Officer at Adlabs Cinemas.
Call it a marketing gimmick to ensure an easy success at the Box Office easy or an added attraction to lure movie buffs to theatres a day in advance, paid previews seem to be finding many takers.
“Paid previews are film and genre specific. Any film, which carries the prospects of a blockbuster status gets the maximum hype. Film makers preview the films before they hit the marquee on the official Friday and earn an extra day’s income,” says Vikramjeet Roy, a film marketer in Mumbai.
