The Hindu Business Line : Dubbed Hollywood flicks boost box office

Dubbed versions are topping up revenues for foreign films, a study by Yes Bank in association with the Film & Television Producer's Guild of India on emerging business trends in the country's film industry, said.

According to the study authored by Mr Sunir Kheterpal, Country Head, Entertainment and Media Banking, 35-40 per cent of the total box office collections of foreign films were contributed by dubbed versions in 2004 compared to approximately 25 per cent in 2001.

The trend has continued strongly into 2005, going by the collection patterns for XXX2 - The Next Level, which had the biggest opening weekend collection among Hollywood films this year.

About 200 prints of XXX2 were released of which only 58 were in English. On the other hand, there are 62 prints in Hindi, 40 in Telugu and 37 in Tamil. At least 70 per cent of the collections for the film, an action ride starring Ice Cube and Samuel L. Jackson, reportedly came from the dubbed releases.

"Dubbed foreign films have increased reach and thereby revenues,'' Mr Vikramjit Roy, Head, Publicity & Acquisitions, Sony Pictures Releasing of India, said. Films in the genre of action, adventure, thriller are usually dubbed in local languages, he said.

Other recent films from the distributor with dubbed versions were Spiderman II (Rs 34 crore gross box office collections so far from 304 prints); Godzilla (Rs 27 crore from 123 prints); Spiderman (Rs 27 crore from 250 prints); Anacondas (Rs 22 crore) and XXX (Rs 15 crore).

Gross box office collections for foreign films in India have increased from Rs 135 crore in 2001 to Rs 180 crore, up 33 per cent in the four-year period. The number of foreign films releasing in India increased at a slower rate of 23 per cent though gross box office collections per foreign film moved up from Rs 2.1 crore in 2001 to Rs 2.3 crore.

Sony Pictures was the leading foreign film distributor with gross collection of around Rs 100 crore in 2004 followed by Warner Brothers with gross ticket sales of Rs 40 crore, the study said. It pointed out that South India's contribution to revenues was 33-38 per cent last year.

"One of the reasons for high contribution from South India is the growth in collections from dubbed versions of foreign films,'' the study said.

Out of the collections garnered from the dubbed versions of foreign films, Hindi versions constituted close to 50 per cent. But Tamil and Telugu versions were not far behind with 30 per cent and 20 per cent share, respectively. Northern and southern regions accounted for a bulk of the earnings.

Perhaps with an eye to tapping the potential in the eastern region, Sony Pictures is now exploring the possibility of dubbing foreign films in Bhojpuri, a popular dialect spoken predominantly in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Upcoming candidates for dubbing from Sony Pictures include Kung Fu Hustle, Stealth, Flight Plan, Legend of Zorro and Chronicles of Narnia.

It is not just dubbing that has helped enhance collections from foreign films. The advent and growth of multiplexes have also played a role. These new theatre complexes already contribute 29-35 per cent of the Hindi film industry's revenues and they are reckoned to have impacted the collection pattern of foreign films as well.

For foreign films, the study has estimated that multiplexes' contribution to collections have increased from roughly 20 per cent in 2001 to 50-60 per cent in 2004.

"The study has examined how business models have changed today with a significant amount of revenues also coming from sources other than the traditional theatrical exhibition. Multiplexes have been an important contributor to revenues,'' Mr Amit Khanna, President, Film Producers' Guild of India, said.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page