 "Actors Aamir Khan with actor Fawad Khan and his wife Sadal Fawad during the screening of film Kapoor and Sons in Mumbai")
Two of India’s favourite pastimes are set to go head-on in the form of continuous cricket action and and some of the biggest movies of the year releasing this summer.
With the ICC T-20 World Cup (March 8 to April 3) and Vivo Indian Premier League (April 9 to May 29) taking place in India around the same time as movies like Batman v Superman, Kapoor and Sons, Fan, Jungle Book and Captain America: Civil War hit the theatres, audiences will be spoilt for choice.
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As Vijay Singh, CEO, Fox Star Studios, puts it, “We enjoy cricket as much as we love our cinema, be it Bollywood or Hollywood. Whilst cricket will be a high decibel buzz in the coming weeks, good content on the silver screen will always be enjoyed by viewers. This year, the summer holidays are going to be great, lots of cricket and movies.”
While this means entertainment in abundance for the viewers, will we see a fight for eyeballs between the cricket stadiums and movie theatres?
If the past few years are anything to go by, studios stand to lose little because of cricket. Some of the biggest hits have come during the summer season, including the likes of Aashiqui 2 (2013), 2 States (2014) and Piku (2015).
This year, the stakes a slightly higher as Yash Raj Films releases Shah Rukh Khan starrer Fan on April 15 and Hollywood studios release some of the biggest superhero franchises from their stable. All these films are significantly higher on investment than the runaway hits the Indian box office has seen over the past few summers.
Bollywood fare this time includes Fix’s Kapoor and Sons (March 18), YRF’s Fan (April 15) and Eros’ Ki and Ka (April 1). Nandu Ahuja, senior VP, India theatrical, Eros International, points out that taking cricket head-on is much better than having movies clutter the release date.
“There are only 52 weekends a year and we have to programme movie releases as best we can within these. Not releasing a movie in the summer when there is so much cricket happening poses its own set of problems. The other weekends before and after the cricket season get cluttered, leading to fiascos at the box office despite the content being good. Also, when big movies release on the same day, screens are divided and neither film gets the exposure it deserves,” he says.
Hollywood, which had a stellar 2015 in India, will expect to sustain the momentum with not one but three major franchises releasing between March and June. The superhero brigade, which started with Fox’s Deadpool, will continue with Warner Bros’ Batman v Superman: The Dawn of Justice, followed by Captain America: Civil War (Disney), and X-Men: Apocalypse (Fox).
Amrita Pandey, vice-president, studios, Disney India believes that good content will find its way to success. “There are a couple of things at play here. One, since it’s summertime and schools and colleges are off, the catchment of audiences is much larger. Yes, there will be days when an important match will command more attention. But on other days, movies will take the upper hand, especially if the movie is good and is being appreciated. Also, releases from Disney appeal across age groups and so we are confident these releases will do well despite facing competition from cricket.”
Disney is no stranger to releasing movies during the IPL season and has seen success. In 2014, Alia Bhatt and Arjun Kapoor starrer 2 States released just as the IPL kicked off. The film went on to make Rs 104 crore at the box office, making it one of the most profitable ventures by the studio that year. The same year, it released Tiger Shroff’s debut vehicle Heropanti, which also turned out to be a profitable venture.
It has also released heavyweight Hollywood films like Marvel’s Avengers (2012), Ironman 3 (2013) and Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) during IPL season and seen good returns at the box office.
“The World Cup T20 is definitely going to have an impact on the commercial box office as the target audience will be engaged with the event. This will have an impact on the opening of the film, but if the film is good the lower turnout in the opening weekend is compensated over the next few days. Films with strong content can always withstand the distraction of cricket,” says an industry executive about the prospects of Warner Bros’ Batman v Superman: The Dawn of Justice.
The studio strategically decided not to postpone the film to avoid this period. This was partly because the studio did not want to deny fans the opportunity to see it with the rest of the world, especially when reviews and key plot points spread like wildfire on social media. The second reason is piracy. Delaying a film of this scale means pirates will be eager to fill in the demand for the film illegitimately in the absence of a theatrical release.
