PRDP crosses 400 crore mark, joins list of Best Marketed Films of 2015

2015 is coming to a close and it has already seen many existing records being broken and some new ones created. There are two biggies still to go – Bajirao Mastani and Dilwale, and one waits to see how the eventual outcome turns out to be. The promotion and marketing of Bajirao Mastani and Dilwale is on and it is pretty much expected that by the time the release date nears, it would be a relentless game out there. Meanwhile, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, riding on the power of Salman Khan and Sooraj Barjatya, and of course some terrific all around marketing, has crossed the 400 crore mark gross worldwide. Here is looking at the year so far and how marketing and promotional push has allowed many of these films to have turned into good successes.

READ: WILL SALMAN’S PRDP JOIN 15 OTHER BOLLYWOOD MAGNUM OPUS THAT WORTH THE HYPE

Prem Ratan Dhan Payo [Highest opening of 2015 (40.35 crore), Biggest First Four Days ever (101.47 crore), Enters 200 Crore Club, Grosses 400 Crore worldwide] 

The Salman Khan and Sooraj Barjatya starrer opened well, and how. With the film seeing the biggest opening of the year so far and also enjoying the highest collections ever in history (as far as first for days is concerned), Prem Ratan Dhan Payo was all over the town as good as three weeks prior to its arrival. Fox and Rajshri went all out to give the film an event release and it did turn out to be biggest Diwali arrival. It may have seen mixed reactions but a terrific opening, powered by marketing, means that the 200 Crore Club was still in the taking for the film.

Marketing pitch: Salman Khan and Sooraj Barjatya’s 25 year old song of ‘Yeh Dosti Hum Nahi Chorenge’ was all over the town

Bajrangi Bhaijaan [Biggest grosser of 2015 (321 crore)]

Despite the fact that the film was basically centered on a man and a little girl, and didn’t quit follow the conventional route of hero-heroine romance, Bajrangi Bhaijaan was pitched well to strike the right chord. For Eros, this was their biggest ever big ticket film and they made sure that the effort counted. Whether it was cross border peace, family man image of Salman Khan or the emotional subject – everything worked.

Marketing pitch: Salman Khan’s simplest ever portrayal, yet a character which is larger than life

Baahubali [First ever dubbed 100 crore film (117 crore)]

This would go down as a case study. When Karan Johar picked up the mantle of giving Baahubali a mega release in Hindi, many wondered if that was indeed the right move. However, he had ample confidence in the S.S. Rajamouli fantasy action drama. Baahubali was pitched as any other Hindi film and it ended up doing more than five times the business of biggest South dubbed film ever – Robot (20 crore).

Marketing pitch: Karan Johar backing the biggest film coming out of Indian cinema. Ever!

Tanu Weds Manu Returns [Highest ROI film of 2015 (152 crore)]

For a film that was made at a cost of just 30 crore, Tanu Weds Manu Returns went on and netted over 150 crore, hence multiplying its investment by five times. Now this was terrific enough for the Aanand L. Rai film that had its heart in the right places. The big bosses at Eros realized this as well and made sure that the Madhavan and Kangana Ranaut starrer got a perfect pitching en route its arrival in theaters.

Marketing pitch: Sequel to immensely liked Tanu Weds Manu. Two Kanganas in the film, one of them with a buck tooth.

Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 [Biggest non-star grosser ever (64 crore)]

Never before has a non-star cast flick managed this kind of terrific business. Before Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2, the only film with new actors that had done similar business was Student of the Year [70 crore] but it was backed by Karan Johar and had a much higher budget. For this Luv Ranjan sequel though, producer Abhishek Pathak designed a smart campaign that enticed youth in a big way to give it a solid Superhit run.

Marketing pitch: Sequel to huge youth success Pyaar Ka Punchnama. More venom against the fairer sex.

Shaandaar [Biggest opening day ever for Shahid Kapoor (13.1 crore)]

Ok, so the film crashed after its opening. However, the fact remains that the Fox and Karan Johar went all out to make sure that it was in news right through its making. In fact the film was hyped sufficiently enough to ensure that Shahid Kapoor got the biggest opening ever after being in the business for 12 years. The film saw over 13 crore coming on the first day, post which it was the content that talked the talk.

Marketing pitch: First time coming together of Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt. Vikas Behl making his next after Queen.

Singh Is Blinng [Biggest opening day ever for Akshay Kumar (20.67 crore)]

In a year where Akshay Kumar had as many as four releases to his name, he had the biggest opening of his career with Singh Is Blinng. Grazing Goat Pictures and Pen India created massive hype around the film, especially through its music promotion, which ensured that in the mass circuits it took a very good opening. Akshay Kumar-Prabhudheva combo was promoted heavily too and so was the Sikh element.

Marketing pitch: Akshay Kumar making a family comedy after two action flicks Baby and Gabbar Is Back. Prabhudheva making a film again with Akshay Kumar after a Blockbuster Rowdy Rathore.

Gabbar Is Back [Biggest on-road promotional spread in 2015 (87.5 crore)]

Prior to Baahubali, one film that enjoyed a really smart promotional campaign was Gabbar Is Back. Starting from its innovative poster designs, Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Shabinaa Khan went all out to pitch this as a major biggie. The ultimate high was its promotional material that was integrated with cab services that ensured that when on road, you couldn’t miss Gabbar passing by.

Marketing pitch: Removal of corruption. Take off on iconic character Gabbar. Name Gabbar used for positive messaging.

ABCD – Any Body Can Dance – 2 [Biggest opening day ever for Varun Dhawan (14.3 crore)]

This one was designed for the youth and for Disney UTV, it was a quintessential dance musical that went with the ethos and spirit of the banner. While the first in the series was a clean hit despite newcomers in the cast, presence of Varun Dhawan and Shraddha Kapoor ensured that there was ample confidence to make this Remo D’Souza film even big. Result? Varun enjoyed the biggest opening day ever for his film.

Marketing pitch: Much bigger sequel to the hit ABCD, in terms of scale and size. Addition of stars Varun Dhawan and Shraddha Kapoor.

Piku [Biggest conversion from opening day (5.3 crore) to lifetime collections (80 crore)]

Those associated with Piku knew that the Shoojit Sircar film would rely on word of mouth. Hence, they went smart in the promotional campaign instead of painting the town red with excessive information. While the post release campaign by MSM Motion Pictures ensured that the Deepika, Big B and Irrfan film stayed in news, lifetime conversion of over 15 times when compared to the opening day was indeed remarkable.

Marketing pitch: Bowel problems. Amitabh Bachchan playing a relatable character, especially for his fans from the 70s and 80s. Unconventional ‘jodi’ of Deepika Padukone and Irrfan.

Roy [Biggest musical campaign of 2015 (Opening day – 10.4 crore)]

Now this is what chartbuster songs can really do for a film. Even though Ranbir Kapoor just had an extended guest appearance in the film, T-Series promoted the film excessively on his chartbuster track ‘Tu Hai Ki Nahi’. The song became an anthem and other superb numbers, Sooraj Dooba Hai, Chittiyaan Kalaiyaan, Boon Boond and Yaara Re were unleashed as well. Result? a very good opening of 10.4 crore.

Marketing pitch: Music, music and music. Suspense around Ranbir Kapoor’s exact part and length of  role.

Talvar [Biggest solo success ever for Irrfan Khan (31 crore)]

A sustained media campaign around Talvar meant that the Meghna Gulzar film enjoyed terrific word of mouth with every passing day. While the opening day was decent too (2.5 crore), what made a huge difference was the manner in which Junglee Pictures, the films division of The Times of India Group, kept the heat on throughout. The film enjoyed a very good run and is now Irrfan’s biggest solo success ever.

Marketing pitch: Real life murder case which remains unsolved till date. Insaaf for those who were wrongly accused.

Note: All collections as per production and distributor sources