[Disclaimer: Answer is predicated on my observations and data present online, I don’t have any ill motivations want to defame any person at all Yusuf Bhandarkar, CEO - The MMS]
Kabir Khan’s highly regarded sports film 83, which was made at an estimated cost of Rs 270 crore, lost over Rs 150 crore at the box office. The under-performance of 83 at the box office has shocked the movie industry, none more so than the producers, which include Deepika Padukone, of this lavish project. Even, an over-sized chunk of Ranveer’s fee is additionally pending. And he is also compelled to jot down it off to counter a minimum of a number of the losses.
For Kabir K, the failure of 83 could be a double setback after the poor response to his last directorial, Tubelight. That too was a really costly film. At this rate, he's likely to amass the reputation of a prohibitive filmmaker.
Though everything can’t be blamed on Omicron, even with the threat of the third wave, audiences flocked to work out Spider-Man and Pushpa.
If they wanted to work out 83, they'd have come. But they didn’t, and one among the explanations for this may be that the kids couldn’t connect with the euphoria of the 1983 tourney victory. For those that were witnesses to the victory, the film was sort of a documentary. They knew everything that they saw within the film from before.
Here are some factors which may have prevented director Kabir Khan's magnum ops from reaching its potential.
Bad release time
It usually happens when two films are released together just one of them will find yourself making extra money. this can be the norm known within the industry. Now, coming to this day. Spider-Man: No Way Home became a surprise super-hit and then did Pushpa - every week later, 83 was released and it absolutely was sure to suffer. No Way Home, despite not having the chummiest of scripts has managed to use the nostalgia train to ferry the cinema-goers. Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, and in fact the OG Tobey Maguire have provided full fan service to the movie. And nobody is complaining either. there's even chatter of Andrew Garfield getting a 3rd movie to complete his trilogy. As for Pushpa, the movie is equipped to be released within the USA likewise, which speaks volumes of its success. The word-of-mouth publicity of Pushpa has been immense and therefore the public in tier-2, tier-3 cities are making multiple rounds to the theatres to look at the movie.
Nevertheless, it should have worked success but moviegoers may need felt these two films were better alternatives than 83.
Ticket pricing at the upper side
Image sources Google
Some non-metro cities reported that the pricing for Ranveer Singh’s 83 was kept at the next side. Contrary to other films, 83 was priced at Rs 300 to Rs 500, supported 2D and 3D versions, reportedly. This high-ticket price did not attract the audience, and possibly is one among the explanations why the film under-performed.
Faulty Distribution strategy
A lot of negativity surrounded 83 before the discharge because of a faulty distribution strategy. Exhibitors were compelled to just accept terms for higher revenue share and 100% showcasing for 2 weeks. Some theatres didn’t release the film, ultimately and this includes Mumbai’s iconic single screen, Maratha Mandir.
Didn’t appeal to the non metro audience
While the film did well in cities like Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, etc. even on Monday, the performance elsewhere was dismal. There was rejection from the audiences outside the metros. They didn't head to see the film. Perhaps the trailer didn't excite them or they weren't responsive to the film. The film appeared like a docudrama. Many preferred to attend for word of mouth. They felt that agar Lagaan ya Bhaag Milkha Bhaag jaisi nikli, toh jaayenge.
Failure of PR and Digital marketing
The marketing was aggressive but plenty of selling effort was misdirected. Money was spent on organizing events in Kochi, Chennai, and Karnataka. However, what's the business that is going on within the regional versions of 83 which were released in these regions? The PR team also disregarded on promoting the movie on the digital medium which has huge eyeballs catering to the youth audience.
A grand premiere was held but who knew about it? this could are a live event and will are aired on a digital platform or a TV station.
Box office just saw Rs. 32 crore at day 1 of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Now 83 contains a story that's relatable to each Indian, featuring any person who has done huge business in India. then again also if it just earned Rs. 15 crores on day 1, then that may be a marketing and PR failure.
Not 'commercial' enough
Sooryavanshi clicked with the mass audience mainly because it had just about everything--right from action scenes to glamour-- that one expects from an advert Bollywood movie. The same, however, can not be said about 83 as its narrative catered to cine-philes and steered away from these elements. While the choice made the film more realistic, it affected its viability in mass markets. the shortage of a Chak De-like anthem prevented it from finding wide patronage.
A different Ranveer film
Ranveer gave strong proof of his star power when Bajirao Mastani emerged as a blockbuster despite facing competition from Shah Rukh Khan's Dilwale. The film was an absolute treat for him as just about everything revolved around his character. the identical is said about Simmba because it was a show-reel for him for the foremost part. 83 with its realistic nature was a departure from these commercial movies. Moreover, while this was few show-reel for him as each character-- right from Jiiva's Krish Srikanth to Pankaj Tripathi-- got equal importance within the narrative. While he delivered the performance of a lifetime and aced legendary cricketer Kapil Dev's mannerisms his work in 83 didn't cater to those who like him larger-than-life / livewire characters.
In conclusion, I would say that we should also not ignore the brilliance of the film, the quality of a film cannot be judged by its box-office performance. Over the vast history of Bollywood, we have seen many legendary movies, like Guru Dutt’s Kagaz Ke Phool and Raj Kapoor’s Mera Naam Joker, which were declared flops when released.
Lemme know your opinions too regarding the film
Thanks for reading folks!
Peace out
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