Mumbai, 6th August, 2018/Team Estrade//– With the evolution of the Indian cinema, the industry has also seen the rise of many stories and storytellers. And many times not all these stories reach the audiences through a traditional theatrical release. This is what BookMyShow and PVR Pictures backed Vkaao is now changing.
With its crowd sourced theatre on demand model, Vkaao continues to be successful in giving a platform to a new league of film makers who are increasingly using the platform to get limited releases across PVR cinemas in the country and reach out to the right audience which is tapped using BookMyShow’s analytic capabilities. Vkaao’s model allows film-makers to create a specific film release plan that ensures focused marketing efforts and better planning of marketing budgets. The platform also allows a long tail theatrical revenue model through which a film stays in the Vkaao library so that one can keep creating incremental shows. Through this model, only the shows where enough people book advance tickets are made live. This is in sheer contrast with a traditional theatrical release where the shows are made available before any guarantee of box office collection is established.
Some of the notable instances where film makers adopted this unconventional approach include Abhimanyu Chauhan’s social drama “Daddy’s Daughter” which he decided to first release only in his hometown of Lucknow where close to 15 special screenings were arranged through Vkaao. Another success story is that of ‘S Durga’, a highly acclaimed movie of this year which adopted a hybrid approach, where movie was traditionally released across Kerala, while outside Kerala, a very well-planned release across select theatres was executed through Vkaao. Similarly, last year’s best foreign language film at Oscars, “The Salesmen” was released using a hybrid approach through Vkaao.
Further, VKAAO allows film-makers to be very precise in planning their shows depending on probability of meeting advance thresholds. “Play This” is being released on a Monday and would continue for the first week up till Thursday. The reason to ditch the traditional Friday release and choosing a Monday is to control the minimum guarantee required for the movie to be screened. The whole idea is to ensure that the movie is screened on the theatres in the first week, and if the movie has enough potential, it can be continued traditionally throughout the week from the 2nd week.
Marzdi Kalianiwala, SVP-Marketing and Business Intelligence, BookMyShow, said “Each year our film industry produces hundreds of films that never see the light of the day and it’s been our endeavour to address this. Now with Vkaao’s unconventional platform, we are proud to support and promote the work of talented and independent filmmakers and help them take their stories to the right audience.”
Kamal Gianchandani, CEO, PVR Pictures, said “PVR has always supported the independent film-makers in India. VKAAO also shares the same ethos. With VKAAO, we are hoping for more and more film-makers are able to showcase their movies on a big-screen and provide true cinematic experience to discerning audience.”
Vkaao is primarily a web-platform that enables people of similar interests to come together to enjoy a screening in a local theatre near them. This brings a personalized cinematic experience for the users. Since the strategic tie-up between the two entertainment giants – BookMyShow and PVR Pictures, the organic screenings on the platform have tripled. The platform has seen nearly 50% month-on-month growth in ticket sales in the last year. Vkaao currently provides the option to choose from 600 titles on its platform and organizes shows in close to 50 cities across India including metro and Tier II cities.
About BookMyShow
BookMyShow works with partners across the industry to provide unmatched entertainment experiences to millions of customers, on par with global entertainment standards. It is constantly innovating to increase its ownership share in the Indian entertainment value chain by relying heavily on its analytic capabilities and incisive understanding of customers. BookMyShow has produced music concerts and theatricals, introduced audio entertainment service Jukebox, built India’s largest organic reviews and ratings engine for movies and has driven technology innovations, such as the m-ticket, impacting both users and the industry at large.
Since its launch in 2007, BookMyShow has been committed to its customers. With investments from TPG Growth, Stripes Group, SAIF Partners, Accel Partners and Network 18, BookMyShow is invested in providing the best user experience, whether it’s on ground at an event or online. Demonstrating category leadership, BookMyShow has expanded its operations to Sri Lanka and Indonesia and has invested in companies including Do-It-Yourself events registration and ticketing platform Townscript and Fantain, a fantasy sports platform for Cricket and Kabaddi. It is also committed to society at large by way of their charity initiative BookASmile, which provides entertainment experiences to the underprivileged. For more information, please visit www.bookmyshow.com
About PVR Pictures Ltd
Founded in the year 2002, PVR Pictures Limited is the largest independent studio for the distribution of foreign language films in India. 100% owned subsidiary of PVR Limited, PVR Pictures is the motion picture arm of the largest cinema exhibition company in the country. With over 350+ Hollywood, 175+ Hindi, 75+ regional films across genres being released under this banner over more than a decade, PVR Pictures has the highest box office shares of independent foreign language films in the country. Some key studios PVR Pictures partners with are STX, Europacorp, Studio Canal, We Are Filmnation, Lionsgate etc.
About Vkaao (vkaao.com)
A fresh, disruptive medium of movie-going, Vkaao is a platform which gives viewers complete control of their movie watching experience at theatres. It allows them to select their preferred movie along with the location, date, and time of the screening at any theatre of their choice. This novel approach to movie going is why Vkaao is being considered as an exciting alternative to the conventional way of watching movies at the theatres. Vkaao’s USP lies in its focus on leveraging state-of-the-art technology in order to create a social, crowd-sourced movie going experience.
Vkaao for Independent film makers
