Ahead of Suzume release, PVR says strong signals to grow anime genre

Japan’s acclaimed anime director Makoto Shinkai, who is seen as the successor to legendary animation filmmaker Miyazaki Hayao, is in India for the theatrical release of his latest movie Suzume on April 21 by PVR Pictures. Ahead of the film’s release, Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, executive director, PVR INOX, tells Veenu Sandhu about the reasons for anime’s growing popularity in India and PVR Pictures’ plans for the genre. Edited excerpts:

What explains the rise in popularity of anime movies among Indian audiences?

Japanese anime is not new to India with most of us having grown up watching it on television. India is among the top countries with the highest engagement of anime movies among kids, young adults and parents. The growth of anime as a category has brought younger audiences to the theatres, and this was boosted during the pandemic with Gen Z discovering and binge-watching anime series at home. The growing interest in Japanese culture, food, lifestyle or language with the opening of restaurants serving Japanese food and Japanese brands coming to India has also increased the appetite for anime movies among Indian audiences.

Is there a demand for a big-screen anime experience in India?

Anime film series have been a huge success in many parts of the world. With this in mind, PVR tried to explore a newer segment of audiences by bringing this genre of movies through its motion picture arm, PVR Pictures, to India and open newer revenue-generating avenues. We were quite surprised to see a similar trend as witnessed worldwide with some of these movies across the country and (in) some specific regions.

How seriously is PVR Pictures looking at bringing more anime movies to India?

We released the first anime movie, “Dragon Ball Super: Broly” (English) in March 2019, which performed reasonably well with over 20 per cent occupancy in PVR Cinemas. However, the movie that encouraged us was Makoto Shinkai’s “Weathering with You” (Japanese), which was released in October 2019 and had a phenomenal occupancy of over 65 per cent in PVR.

We released 15 movies during the period March 2019 to March 2023, which included a two-year gap due to the pandemic. Movies such as “Jujutsu Kaisen: Zero” and “One Piece Film: Red” have performed exceedingly well in the theatres, giving strong signals to grow this genre further.

Will the ticket price be different for anime movies? And, will these be dubbed or screened with subtitles?

The ticket prices for anime movies are in line with regular ticket pricing for any other non-blockbuster movie, and varies according to the city, time of the day, day of the week and the format in which it is playing.

Most of these movies are subtitled. However, some big movies may be dubbed in multiple languages. For instance, Shinkai’s upcoming movie, “Suzume”, to be released on April 21 is subtitled and is also dubbed in Hindi to appeal to a larger demography, considering the huge popularity and fan following of the filmmaker.

How many screens will “Suzume” be released on?

We are targeting a 200-plus screen release for “Suzume” across PVR, INOX and other partner chains.

Which was the last anime movie that PVR Pictures screened in India?

The last one was “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – To the Swordsmith Village” (Japanese)’ in March 2023, which was a runaway success with occupancy of over 35 per cent. PVR has also screened Shinkai’s movies such as “Your Name”, “The Garden of Words”, “Children Who Chase Lost Voices”, “5 Centimeters per Second” and “The Place Promised in Our Early Days” from in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru as part of the Japanese Film Festival in 2022.

Do anime movies also draw older audiences? What is the average age group?

Though 16-24 is the prime age group consuming the most anime content, with the anime movie “Avatar” on the big screen magnified by visually stunning effects, it is not surprising that such content not only appeals to Gen Z but also millennials and Gen X. (In the fandom, debate rages on whether “Avatar” qualifies as ‘anime’, a genre the puritans strictly reserve for hand-drawn, computer-generated animation originating from Japan.)

Is PVR Pictures also looking at anime merchandise around the movie?

Once this segment grows further, we would be keen on introducing anime merchandise around the movies. We have a partnership with Macmerise for selling movie merchandise in the form of consumer electronics, electronic accessories, fashion apparels, games, stationeries, home, kitchen and mobile accessories.