Yashraj Films’ much awaited co-production with Walt Disney Roadside Romeo, a Rs 23-crore animation featuring the voices of Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor released to empty houses in 2008.
And though Akshay Kumar’s much hyped animation debut Jumbo failed to make an impact, the franchise is already in sequel mode.
Joining the sequel bandwagon is Shemaroo’s Bal Ganesh and a step ahead with a threequel is Baba Arts’s My Friend Ganesha.
Figures suggest that animation features recover only 15 per cent of their budgets through ticket sales. So why do producers pump in money for a genre that’s a high risk zone as far as box-office success goes? Simply because they make for great television content and with the growing number of children’s channels, animated features with indigenous content are hot property.
For instance the price of the satellite rights of Jumbo made on a budget estimated to be around Rs 20 crore, can be pegged at approximately Rs 10 to 15 crore.
“Jumbo has Akshay Kumar in it, its chances will be higher in the general entertainment channel space,†CEO of Percept Picture Company Navin Shah said.
While VP of Turner India Monica Tata said, “Kids love to watch these films, they have repeat value, for instance Krishna broke records when it came to ratings.â€
Also, a large chunk of the revenue pie for animated feature films come from the sale of home video rights.
Director of Shemaroo Entertainment Hiren Gada said, “Definitely animation films have more shelf life than any other films. Films like Bal Ganesh and Ghtotkatch were highly successful to that extent and have been topping the home DVD charts.â€
With ambitious animated versions of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Tarzan and Natkhat Betal in the pipeline, now you know why recession doesn’t seem to have made a dent in Bollywood’s plans for the animation genre.
Related Content
Tags: Akshay Kumar, Animation films are the money spinners of Bollywood, Bal Ganesh, Disney, Disney Roadside Romeo, Kareena Kapoor, Navin Shah, Roadside Romeo, Saif Ali Khan, Yashraj | Filed in Bollywood
Loading ...
Add A Comment