Viacom18 Motion Pictures in its rebooted avatar has seen several successes in the past two years. The company which was largely into acquisition and distribution of movie projects, has changed its strategy and is now focusing to get a share of the entire movie production pie.

Vikram Malhotra, Chief Operating Officer, Viacom18 Motion Pictures, said, “Earlier there was more focus on acquisition of film projects and their distribution. But we are now a fully integrated studio which is involved with the film from its script till the last mile release.” He said the company is following a two-pronged strategy to make great cinema and have great returns on investments.

“In the last two years, we have had 10 films running at the theatres for 50 days which is a genuine statement that the content of these movies resonated with the audience,” Malhotra said adding that on an average film production houses had a success rate of 10-15 per cent but the firm has had a success rate of nearly 70 per cent. The company believes this is a successful milestone for its movies at a time when the industry is talking about the Rs 100-crore club and film makers are trying to make the most of the first three days of the release.

He said that the production house has backed films that might not always be conventional but have engaging content for the audience besides giving investment on returns. These include Kahaani, Gangs of Wasseypur and Oh My God .

Next year, the company has nearly18-22 movies planned for release. Among the Hindi movies that will be up for release include Bhaag Milkha Bhaag , Inkaar , Sahib Biwi Gangster Returns , Bombay Talkies , among others. Viacom18 which has a strategic alliance with Paramount Pictures will also be distributing English films such as Hansel & Gratel , G I Joe Retaliation , Star Trek , among others besides two regional films.

Talking about the future of the movie industry, Malhotra said, he was cautiously optimistic. “The audiences are back to the cinema not only in big numbers but the frequency at which they watch movies across genres has gone up. But costs and the marketing budgets have gone through the roof as movie makers try to break the release clutter.”

Asked about the increase in use of smartphones and tablets to access content by the audiences, he said that in the next 2-3 years content will be made specifically to be released on these platforms rather than the fourth screen serving as just an incremental source of revenues for content makers.

Meenakshi.v@thehindu.co.in

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