EXCLUSIVE: Cinepolis India took a chance on Hanuman Ansh before its BLOCKBUSTER run; Ashish Misra reveals the strategy behind the 200-to-2,200 screen growth
Cinepolis is not just a popular multiplex chain but also one of the prominent distributors in the country, and is gradually building a reputation for backing sleeper hits. Last year, Cinepolis released The Taj Story, while this year, it acquired the theatrical rights of Hanuman Ansh, a film that has gone on to become a sleeper blockbuster of epic proportions. Interestingly, expectations from the film before its release were negligible, and it was at this stage that Cinepolis decided to place its bet on the devotional drama. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Ashish Misra, Head of Commercialisation, Cinepolis India, spoke about the strategy behind backing Hanuman Ansh.
Ashish Misra said, “Decisions on the distribution side of the business are not emotionally driven; they are data-driven. We really liked the film and its story, and felt that it was a film worth bringing to Indian audiences.”
He added, “We started small, with around 200 screens. This was one of those instances where audiences took some time to discover the film. But once they did, it started growing rapidly. For the first two weeks, the business was not as strong as expected. However, once audiences took to the film, it grew manifold and eventually expanded to around 2,000 to 2,200 screens across the country.”
Ashish continued, “At Cinepolis, our objective is very clear: can this film be taken to a wider audience? Hanuman Ansh ticked all the boxes. It had great music, a strong storyline and powerful content. We wanted to do our best to take the film to the masses.”
Hanuman Ansh sequel is also in the offing and it’s expected to set new records. Will Cinepolis be a part of Hanuman Ansh 2 as well? Ashish Misra replied, “That’s a call we can’t take right now, as the second part hasn’t even been made yet. We would certainly be open to associating with it, but at this stage, it’s still too early to really think about that.”
Interestingly, Hanuman Ansh was steady in the weekend gone by despite the release of the monstrous Drishyam The Conclusion. Ashish remarked, “When you have a big-ticket film like Drishyam The Conclusion, which has been really well received by audiences, it’s natural for the shows of holdover releases to come down. But even with a limited number of shows, Hanuman Ansh performed quite impressively. In fact, it was the second-best performing film over the weekend after Drishyam The Conclusion. The film is now releasing in Telugu, and it’ll be interesting to see how it performs there.”
Also Read: Hombale Films to release Hanuman Ansh in Telugu on October 9
The post EXCLUSIVE: Cinepolis India took a chance on Hanuman Ansh before its BLOCKBUSTER run; Ashish Misra reveals the strategy behind the 200-to-2,200 screen growth appeared first on Bollywood Hungama.