The Entry of Hollywood in

India: A Distribution
Perspective
A project by Shraddha Naik (M19095)
The Indian Film Industry Overview
• India produces the highest number of film in the world and
comfortably eclipses Hollywood in terms of reach and production
costs
• In 2004, the Indian film industry produced more than 900 films in all
languages, which was more than double the number of Hollywood
film produced in the same year
• India also had about 13,000 movie theater catering to its large
population
• India also had a number of strong regional film industries, especially in
the southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and
Kerala and in the eastern state of West Bengal
• Inspite of this there was niche for Hollywood movies. The big five'
Hollywood studios - 20° Century Fox, Columbia, Tristar, Paramount,
Warner Bros, and Universal - started their operations in India primarily
to distribute English movies in the country. state of West Bengal.
Traditional Method of Distribution of
Bollywood Movies
• The Hindi film distribution process in India was a
territory-based system where films were sold on cost per
territory basis
• India was divided into seven major and minor territories
including one overseas territory.
• A producer sold the film to a distributor, who operated
in one or more territories, on the basis of bidding.
• The distributor who paid a minimum guarantee amount
to the producer, in turn sold the film to exhibitors who
controlled the theaters in a territory.
• The exhibitors paid a certain guaranteed amount to the
distributor before purchasing the film.
• Under this system the cost for marketing the film had to
be borne by the distributor than on the producer, this
made life very difficult for the distributor
Enter, Hollywood!
• The early nineties saw the beginning of a new trend - Hollywood
blockbusters like Jurassic Park were dubbed into Hindi, Telugu, and Tamil.
• Foreign distributors started selling distribution rights of dubbed versions
of Hollywood films to local distributors across India.
• Dubbed versions of many English films like Anaconda, which were big
failures in the United States, did more than average business in ‘B' and
'C' centres in India. This resulted in many big budget Hollywood films
such as Matrix, Mission Impossible, Collateral Damage, etc., being
dubbed into Indian languages and being released along with the original
version.
• During the late nineties, the emergence of classy multiplexes in many
tier-I and tier-Il cities in India increased the market for the original
versions of Hollywood films.
• In 2003, about 80 Hollywood films were released in India.
The Lagaan Effect
• Even with India being the 15th biggest market for Hollywood
films in the world, Hollywood studios were not involved in
either production or distribution of Indian films till the 90s
due to the government restrictions on foreign film companies
• However, things changed after the Hindi movie Lagaan,
released in 2001, was nominated for the Oscar under the best
foreign film category in 2002.
• Many foreign film distributors started contemplating the
distribution of Hindi films both inside and outside India.
• Sony Pictures Entertainment distributed Lagaan overseas,
after the film was nominated for the Oscar
• After this many studios like Fox, Warner Brothers, Paramount,
Tristar, Columbia, and Universal entered the Indian film
distribution market
Hollywood Distribution Process
• Hollywood film distributors had introduced many new transparent
practices in the traditional distribution process. Unlike Indian
distributors, they involved themselves in the film-making process.
• Hollywood studios distributed a regional language film without
giving any production finance to the producer.
• Hollywood distributors also started distributing their films across
India through their distribution network without following the
territory system.
• These distributors stuck deals with regional producers to release
their films all over India.
• They also changed the way money was paid to the producers
• They distributed films by charging a certain amount in the form of
a percentage of box office value. This ensured that even if the film
was unsuccessful the distributors got their commission and the
losses were borne by the producer.
Question 1: Discuss the different trends in Hollywood film distribution
in India. Do you agree with analysts' view that Hollywood studios might
find it tough to produce and distribute mainstream Indian cinema in
India?
• Foreign distributors started selling distribution rights of dubbed versions of Hollywood films to local
distributors across India
• During the late nineties, the emergence of classy multiplexes in many tier-I and tier-Il cities in India
increased the market for the original versions of Hollywood films
• Hollywood films which were initially screened in India only years or months after they were released
in USA, now began to be released simultaneously
• SPE distribution started distributing hindi films in 1999, while Fox India bagged the distribution rights
for 3 medium budget films
• In my opinion, the Hollywood studios are playing it safe by initially partnering with homegrown
studios to understand the market. This can be seen in the case of Saawariya, which was produced by
Sony and Sanjay Leela Bhansaali’s production house.
• This way the Hollywood studios will gain important market information while slowly creating a
strong footing in the Indian mainstream movie business. This ensures that they will in the long run
succeed in establishing their business in the country.
Mention the factors that contributed to the increase in the success of
Hollywood films (both straight and dubbed version) in India in 1990s
and 2000s. Do you think Indian companies that ventured into
distributing Hollywood films in India will succeed? Give reason for
your answer .
• The increase in success of Hollywood films in India could be contributed to the increased variety of
films it brought to the screens
• It brought about unique films such as Jurassic Park and Matrix, which had the appeal of CGI, which
was unique at the time in the country
• Globalization had hit the country and many of the youngsters were interested in Hollywood movies
• The average income of the Indian household had increased, and they had more income to spare on
their entertainment
• Indian companies venturing in Hollywood film distribution are more than likely to succeed in the
market as there is a great increase in the demand for Hollywood movies in the country. Internet
and the free flow of information across the globe through Youtube, Netflix etc. has made the youth
today well-versed with the current trends
• Blockbuster movies like Avengers, Fast and the Furious, Avatar etc. have made more money than
some Bollywood movies in the country and have a great demand
Thank You!