Indian films 'overseas box office accounts for 30% of total revenue, production costs, actors account for 15-20%

India can produce about 170-200 films every year, but like China, there are not many films that can be returned, only about 5%. Compared with the difficult overseas distribution market of China films, the internationalization path of Indian films seems smoother. The overseas box office revenue of Indian films generally accounts for about 35% of the total box office. In addition to the movie box office, there are also 5% of TV rights and 5% of music rights in overseas copyright revenue.

Exaggerated expressions, open limbs, and the joyful singing and dancing of childish children-this constitutes the impression of the vast majority of China people on Indian films.

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Five years ago, the release of "Three Fools Causing Bollywood" made more China audiences notice the charm of Indian films. Although it has long been released in India and its sources have spread across the Internet, the film still earned 14 million yuan in box office thanks to its high reputation. The popularity of "Three Silly" seems to have opened up the China market for Indian films. Since then, Indian films have been introduced to China one after another. Among them,"My God", which was released last year and also starred "Three Silly" protagonist Amir Khan.(P.K.) It achieved over 100 million yuan in box office in one fell swoop, setting a new record for Indian films in the China market.

The development of the Indian film industry, which is famous for its Bollywood, has always been praised, but it seems that Indian films are rare to see in the China film market. Most films only entered China as approval films after they were released in India for a year or two.

Prasad Shetty, Indian partner of Peacock Mountain Pictures, who has helped Indian films such as "Three Silly" and "My God" enter the China market, said that in fact, before Hollywood films entered the China market in 1994, there was a lot of exchanges in the Chinese and Indian film markets, and 4 to 5 Indian films are introduced to China every year.

However, just this summer,"King Bahobali: The Beginning", the most invested epic mythological blockbuster in Indian film history, was introduced to China by China Film Group.

Overseas distribution of Indian films: Benefiting from the large immigrant group, the promotion strategy pays more attention to spreading film concepts

. In Prasad's view, as Indian films have gradually formed a fixed audience in the China market, as well as film exchanges and policy support between China and India, Indian films will become regular visitors to the China film market in the next two to three years: "At least 1-2 films that have received well in India may be introduced every year."

Compared with the difficult overseas distribution market of China films, the internationalization path of Indian films seems smoother. For example, the 2014 action movie "Phantom Car God 3" not only won a box office of 6 billion Indian rupees (approximately 584 million yuan) locally, but also gained a lot overseas. The box office in North America alone reached 8 million US dollars, and "My God"(P.K.) It broke through the 10-million-dollar mark.

Aashish, producer of "Phantom Car God", said that overseas box office revenue of Indian films generally accounts for about 35% of the total box office. In addition to the box office of movies, 5% of overseas copyright revenue also accounts for TV rights and 5% of music rights. At present, in addition to Britain, the United States and the Middle East, China has also become an important choice for overseas distribution of Indian films. Take "My God" as an example. The copyright revenue of the film in China accounts for about 20% of its overseas copyright.

In addition to language advantages, Prasad believes that on the one hand, India's film industry is more mature than China's film industry. At the same time, India has many overseas immigrants in Europe and the United States, and they support Indian films to gradually gain mainstream movie-watching groups overseas.

The promotion of Indian films in China is not very fanciful, but it is quite distinctive. According to Prasad, what they hope to promote is the concept of Indian films: to convey profound meaning through relaxed comedy stories.

"Movies like '50 Shades of Grey' are definitely banned in India." Prasad revealed that in terms of film subject content management, although Indian films implement a grading system, their tolerance for violence and pornographic content is no less than that of China, and even smaller, so most of the films appearing on the Indian big screen are entertaining family comedy.

However, Chinese and Indian films also differ in many aspects. The most obvious thing is the length of the movie. Domestic films are basically controlled within 120 minutes, while Indian films are 3 or 4 hours long. "Unlike traditional three-stage films, Indian films are more common in a four-stage structure: introduction-small climax-narration period-big climax," Prasad explained."In India, movies have been integrated into the people's Daily life is a cultural and entertainment activity that brings families and children on weekends. Many people can sit in the cinema all day."

In addition, in terms of film production, according to Aashish, the producer of "Phantom Car God 3", large films with high production costs in India implement a producer centered system, while small and medium-cost films are a director centered system. There is no concept of a writer team in India. Generally, there will be no more than two writers for a movie, but "Phantom Car God 3" may be an exception, with as many as four writers.

Compared with domestic films, which spend most of their money on inviting stars, Indian films only account for 15-20% of their actor fees, and they cannot participate in the box office share.

India is the largest special effects foundry, and its advantage lies in language. English-speaking countries and Hollywood, the world's film center, can seamlessly connect, and India is also a huge market. According to reports, the cost of special effects in Indian films generally accounts for 1/5 of the total cost, and many special effects artists come from Hollywood teams.

In terms of actor selection, unlike China female audiences who like small fresh meat, Prasad believes that the aesthetics of Indian audiences prefer masculine and healthy male images. He even made an analogy: "Indian audiences like Lu Han may not be easy to accept, but Wu Yifan will be better."

Indian film music is not separated. 70% of the music comes from film interludes.

In order to achieve better box office results throughout India, films from one region are often made in multiple languages.

"In terms of geography and language, India is actually very similar to Europe." According to Prasad, there are about 15 large-scale industrial systems and 5 major production companies in India. In addition to being divided by language and region, each family has subtle differences in film genre and style. Some are good at action films, while others focus on romance films. Compared with the emotional delicacy of North Indian films, South Indian films will appear more exaggerated and colorful in plot design.

However, in terms of market share, Bollywood already accounts for half of the Indian film market, followed by Tollywood and Kaollywood, each accounting for about 20% of the market. According to Rajmuri, the screenwriter of "King Bahobali", Bollywood has a great influence in the overseas film market, and Bollywood stars such as Amir Khan and Shakruhan have great fan appeal. However, in recent years, the South Indian film industry has also developed rapidly.

According to producer Aashish, India can produce about 170-200 films every year. However, like China, there are few films that can be returned, only about 5%. US$15 million-20 million is a very high box office. The average box office of most films will be around US$1.2 million.

In addition, the song and dance plots common in Indian films are often incomprehensible to China audiences and equate them with musicals. "In fact, Indian films are divided into traditional and modern films. At present, many modern Indian films no longer have songs." Prasad believes that "the main reason why Indian films always sing and dance is not only the use of songs to express romance, but also the more important consideration of commercial factors. In India, the film industry and the music industry are complementary and inseparable. India produces almost 3000 songs a year, 70% of which come from movies."

Indian musicians do not have a fixed music style. They often make personalized creations based on different movies. After the movie is released, the movie theme music can also be profitable by selling copyright on the album. Movies promote the vigorous development of music, and through music, the stories in movies can also unfold more smoothly and heart-to-heart, and the two complement each other.

Editor: yvonne