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Disney UTV gives big push to Iron Man 3 in India

Latest franchise Iron Man 3 gets biggest release or a Hollywood film in India. Also gets over 15 brands associations for the film

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Gaurav Laghate Mumbai
Hollywood films continue to grow significantly in India. While in the last year itself, each release in India reached out to as many as 1,000 screens, the growth of 3D screens has also seen a substantial increase.

Taking cue, UTV Motion Pictures, the distributor of Iron Man 3, has decided to give the movie a big release in India. Gaurav Verma, Director – India Theatrical Distribution, Studios, Disney UTV said, “We are bringing Iron Man 3, one of the most awaited films of the year to as many as 450 digital screens. This is, by far, the highest for any Hollywood release in India so far. We are also taking the film to almost 350-400 single screens which again is a record of sorts as the normal range for any blockbuster Hollywood movie is 200-250 screens”.
 

Experts believe that the huge box office collections that big Hollywood films receive today is also due to audience fascination of 3D films. Collection has grown exponentially, for example, earlier 3D collections were in range of 35-40% and today it could be in the range of 50-60% for blockbuster and for small/medium budget movies it could be in the range of 80-100%.

“Hollywood has definitely emerged as an increasingly significant component of the Indian theatrical box office in the past few years. This is driven by a combination of factors. One is, that big films are releasing wider than ever before due to digital expansion and lower per print costs, and are being marketed more and more aggressively. Secondly, the content is working well with audiences, especially big ticket franchises.

Thirdly, the wide reach of this franchise content on television is a big driver, since all these films are dubbed and consumed on television beyond their normal theatrical constituencies. So, by the time 'The Avengers 2' will release, 'The Avengers' will have been aired across all languages and touched audiences who might not have watched it theatrically, thus increasing the audience for the next instalment significantly.

In addition, with the success of 'The Avengers' in India last year, audiences are now eagerly looking forward to the third instalment of 'Iron Man' releasing this Friday. Finally, a huge reason for the increasing acceptance of Hollywood content in India is the new generation of 15-24 age-group audiences who have grown up in the age of 24-7 satellite television and the internet, giving them direct and immediate access to a wide array of content from around the world, thus broadening the taste for content that is not local,” Siddharth Roy Kapur, Managing Director – Studios, Disney UTV said.

Meanwhile, for the first time, over 15 brands have tied-up with Marvel for the film, highest for any Hollywood film in India.

The tie ups include with Mumbai IPL franchise Mumbai Indians, wherein a special range of cricket merchandise has been launched with Mumbai Indians. For apparels, it has partnered with Cotton World, Myntra, Bioworld, Zovi, Max (a special rage of T Shirts based on the Iron Man character); for accessories with Titan, a special range of Zoop watches will be launched. In back to school range, a range of back to school products will be launched with Simba and HM international.

“Iron Man, one of Marvel's most iconic characters resonates with adults and kid audiences alike. This year, to bring the theatrical experience alive and to give fans an opportunity to own products of their favourite Marvel Super Hero, we have got over 15 brands on board,” said Roshini Bakshi, managing director, Consumer Products and Retail, Disney. “We have presence across all major product categories including apparel for men and boys, accessories, toys, home solutions, back to school products and much more allowing fans to have their favourite Super Heroes as a part of every facet of their life.”

Among other partnerships are with D’décor for bed linen, curtains and more; Funskool, Hasbro, Frank puzzles and Excel for toys and Wipro Gulcovita and Seven seas cod liver oil, and Merck ltd for food, health and beauty products.  

 “This is for the first time Cotton World has tied-up with a Hollywood Studio to come out with an exciting range of adult t-shirts inspired by Iron Man and giving the India fans an amazing opportunity to wear their favourite Super Hero,” said Lavin Lekhraj, Director, Cotton World.

“Iron Man has gained a lot of popularity amongst the Indian fans with Iron Man 1 & 2 and last year with The Avengers. This has lead to a lot of demand for toys inspired by Iron Man and the gadgets that the character uses. Funskool is excited to bring a wide range of innovative toys developed by Hasbro that are inspired by the character such as masks, figurines, wrist armour and much more,” said R. Jeswant, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Funskool India.

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First Published: Apr 25 2013 | 5:33 PM IST

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