|
| Oscar push for Slumdog Millionaire |
| Surajeet Das Gupta & Ashish Sinha / New Delhi Mar 06, 2009, 00:46 IST |
|
The movie, defying cultural stereotypes, is raking in the moolah from all corners of the globe.
It might be just a simple story of slum dwellers trying to survive in the cruel world of Mumbai. But after sweeping the Oscars on February 23, the Slumdog Millionaire juggernaut is spreading like wildfire across the global box office.
The movie which got a major boost because of the Oscar sweep — collecting over $200 million (Rs 1,000 crore) across the globe — is creating magic at the box office by hitting top ranks in Latin America (Argentina, Mexico and Chile), Australia and New Zealand, Europe (France, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland) and even Russia. In the UK, home to the film’s director Danny Boyle and lead actor Dev Patel, Slumdog is already the largest grosser (among movies which are still in cinemas) drawing $37 million (Rs 185 crore) from box office collections.
The movie — which, before its knockout performance, had almost gone for DVD release rather than the big screen — has made a staggering thirteen times of the amount that its makers had invested in the film ($15 million or Rs 75 crore).
Says Vivek Krishnani, head of distribution, marketing and syndication for Fox Star Studios India: “Post the Oscars there has been an increased interest in the movie from exhibitors all over the world, just as it has been in India too. The Oscars have opened up new markets for the movie.” In India the movie has grossed around Rs 32 crore from box office collections.
Says ad filmmaker Prahlad Kakkar: “Of course, it is doing well globally, especially in countries that have a large displaced population—those who come to cities from the interiors to earn their livelihood. The story has a universal appeal and is as much a story of the slums of Brazil, Argentina, Eastern European countries or Bangladesh, as it is of Dharavi in Mumbai.”
In the US, Slumdog became the top grosser on March 3 — based on daily collection data. Thanks to the Oscar effect, it moved from number five in terms of weekly box office collections to the third slot for the week ending March 1. And with total collections of $116 million (Rs Rs 580 crore), it is the seventh highest grosser in the US in the last one year behind such top grossers as Dark Knight, Twilight and Marley and Me.
In Argentina, for instance, the Oscar success of the movie has made Slumdog climb box office collection charts from number five (week ending February 22) to number one for the week ending March 1. It has moved ahead of tough competitors like Disney’s Bedtime Stories and Pink Panther.
In Australia the movie moved from number four to number two; in Chile, from number two to number one, just behind Bedtime Stories; and in Mexico, from number three to number one during the same period.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Read Business news in |  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Advertisements |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Content Guide
