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Rising Hub for Premiere Releases
By Christine Marie Cherian
he Gulf region over the past few years has been having a steady emerging market for movie releases and a place where young filmmakers are able to showcase their talent.
They are able to do so at various festivals such as the Gulf Film Festival and Dubai International Film Festival. Dubai, a city which has been developing and going to great heights, has seen a tremendous boon in this field in particular. With hosting great festivals where movie stars walk down the red carpet, it has put Dubai on world market of movies.
communicated through radio about her search for her husband. Following this, she visited the Khaleej Times office, yet again spreading the message. Vidya Balan visited a Dubai government – supported women’s shelter in Dubai, where she spent time listening to
campaign, Mr. Shujah Syed, CEO of Ministry of Events says, “The key strategy was to recreate the story of Vidya’s character in real life. This gave audience a connection with the movie’s plot, feel a sense of community with the star and the movie setting, as well as create positive word of mouth. This focused
Box Office Collection of Kahaani across the World Across India, Kahaani has earned a total of AED 16,92,115. In the UAE Kahaani was screened at 27 screens and earned a total of AED 18,50,000. In the US it was released across 45 theatres and collected a total of AED 9,65,847. In UK it was screened on 31 screens and collected a total of AED 30,412. In countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, it earned about AED 1,96,793, AED 12,762 and AED 17,011 respectively.
Dubai is a city where one will find people from different nationalities. People living in this city are able to go for movies of their choice due its wide variety. Mr. Pritesh Depala, Managing Director, Phars Film, says that the market of Dubai is multicultural.
Below is a graphic box depicting the percentage of box office collections across the world.
According to Mr. Shujah Syed, CEO of Ministry of Events, he says, “This truly “international” city has an unmatchable style, a sense of urgent energy and the world’s best facilities.”
Box Office Collection - Kahaani (in %)
It has been 40 years since the UAE became a nation and Indian cinema has been a part of it since the beginning. The local population of Dubai is well educated and exposed to Indian cinema, and also enjoys watching them. Due to these reasons, the box office collections have been able to gain a positive response.
Premiere releases in Dubai Dubai has seen many premiere releases over the past few months. Movie stars travel here to promote their movie. One of the main reasons as to why Dubai is emerging as a market for premiere releases is due to its close proximity to India. The movies here release a day before, this helping to avoid any piracy issues. One of the recent films which were premiered in Dubai was the Bollywood hit ‘Kahaani’ starring Vidya Balan. It was released in Dubai one day prior to its actual release worldwide, i.e. 8th March 2012. Vidya Balan was seen in some of the well known locations in Dubai promoting her movie.
Promotion of the movie The promotion of the movie was done by Dream Advertising and Ministry of Events. As part of the launch, there were various activities involved in order to excite the Bollywood fans of Dubai. The launching of the movie was based on Vidya Bagchi’s (Balan) search for her missing husband. She visited various venues in the city to find her husband.
Mr. Depala also mentions that according to him the genre which is best preferred in Dubai is Bollywood Masala. He says, “Going for a Bollywood Masala movie is like going to a holiday for 3 hours. It takes you out of reality and you completely enjoy yourself, and feel great when you come out.”
women, who were recovering from abusive relationships and human trafficking. Her next stop was at Lamcy Plaza, where she talks to the crowd and asks them to help her in the search. This was the only mall where the promotions were carried out. The screening of the movie took place at the Grand Cineplex, through which her message was communicated. She also visited the MAX store to engage with her fans.
on a single strong strategic goal, which helped create an unforgettable experience that did wonders for the movie’s publicity.”
Distribution of the movie Being a movie from India, financing for the distribution of the movie is not done from India, and needs to be undertaken solely by the distributors here. The distributor, Phars Film, needs to distribute the movie on their own ways by getting it from the film. The distribution house will decide which country, how many countries, and the timings of the movie, whether or not to double the screenings are coordinated with the other exhibitors.
Through these various promotional methods, it helped them create a sense of involvement for the moviegoers in Dubai.
Mr. Depala mentions that they focus on only one or two movies maximum each week, and due this the turnovers received are high.
The first stop for her search began with Vidya’s appearance in a press conference at the Grand Hyatt, where she narrated her ordeal and engaged a one on one with the media.
The overall promotions for the movie were carried out for almost a week, but the actual promotions took place entirely on one whole day.
She then visited the studio of City 1016 FM, where she
As part of the different strategies used for the marketing
Mr. Pritesh Depala, Managing Director, Phars Film
Kahaani in the first week of release didn’t perform well, but eventually over the weeks, the movie gained a hit. Some of the important pointers that to be kept in mind while distributing a movie, Mr. Depala says, “There are three important pointers, the star cast, limited competitive movies and the timings of the movie.”
50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0%
India
Dubai
US
UK
Australia
New Zealand
Fiji
Dubai - International Hotspot for films With the shooting of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Dubai has been marked as a place for shooting. During the movie’s press conference at Burj Khalifa, Tom Cruise says that Dubai has a future as a movie hub. In a recent report, A Dubai Film and TV Commission have been set up to monetize the Emirate’s cosmopolitan and scenic character. With development of this decision, it will help in increasing the local production of films and TV sectors, and also attract international production. By doing so, Dubai will soon become a premier location for media production and contribute to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and also increase tourism. With this decision, it is also a message sent to the world that Dubai is an open and free city to new ideas, keeping in mind their culture and traditions.