BTS, ‘Suzume,’ ‘Evil Dead Rise,’ Oriol Paulo: Bollywood Players Seek Pull of Global Content for Local Success
Naman Ramachandran Internationally sourced programming and stories placed alongside local content could be a solution to bring audiences back to Indian cinemas, a high-powered panel debated. The panel was part of Indiantelevision.com’s annual industry event, The Content Hub, that recently concluded in Mumbai. Mayank Shroff, head of film distribution at Cinepolis, the Indian division of Latin American exhibition giant Cinepolis, said that while footfalls were back to 85% of pre-pandemic days, an innovative approach is required to bring the rest of the audiences back. Shroff pointed to the success of Makoto Shinkai’s anime film “Suzume,” which accounted for 20% of the Cinepolis box office over the past weekend and “Evil Dead Rise,” which also pulled in decent numbers, both in the face of stiff competition from Eid holiday release “Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan,” starring superstar Salman Khan. Shroff also said that there was demand for Korean films and K-pop concerts, notably by BTS, streamed into cinemas live or as recordings. He added that that the international content was working in their original languages in the metropolises and can be customized into local languages for release in tier 2 and 3 centers.