Aamir Khan starer, Dangal has so far earned over a massive 500 crores in China. That’s more than lifetime earnings of 95% of the movies in India.
Dangal released in about 4,500 screens in India and 9,000 screens in China
Bahubali 2 released in 6,500 screens in India, 6,000 screens across the neighboring country.
Part of Dangal’s unique appeal is that the theme especially resonated in China, which like India has grappled with patriarchal social values. That the film showcased a reality familiar to many Chinese. Dangal will release as Shuai Jiao Baba, which means Let’s Wrestle, Dad.
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The success of Dangal and Baahubali 2 overseas is a notable event. It shows:
- Indian products can appeal to global audiences.
- Spending power in China is much more than India (price of a ticket is $12 vs $1.5)
- Distribution is far easier in China than India (Indian movies on 2x # of screens in China than in India)
- India is beginning to influence the culture around the world.
Lessons for Startups:
- You can find Markets that have the same problems as the ones you are solving.
- Purchasing power parity of your target audience. Markets ability and willingness to pay more for your product. (Even if the Market Size is smaller)
- Multilingual distribution can expand your market.
- Product distribution, sales channels, affiliate models, partners can help you reach out to more customers.
- Leveraging star power/influencers can do wonders for you.
- Identifying the right marketing strategy that people/businesses in the demographic relate to is a must.
- The majority of the Profits go to the producers. Which in Startup terms refers to the Investors. Do not give away equity easily, unless absolutely necessary.
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New questions:
- The immense potential of the Indian Film industry. China has 40,000 screens, India has 8500. Less than 4% of the Indian population watched Dangal at a theater. The low screen density in India. Scope for improvement? #StartupIdea #FoodForThought
If anyone wants to collaborate on this research, write to [email protected] - 20-25 crore video views on youtube for top Indian videos (compared to 3-4 crore for the top movie at a theater). How about releasing movies on the Internet? #netflix, #amazonprimevideo #StartupIdea #FoodForThought
