Nice Article : How #Haider WON with positive word of mouth in this biggest clash with a commercial entertainer Bang Bang - Bang Bang vs Haider: Whos cashing in on the power of word of mouth publicity? Bang Bang was assigned close to 4,500 screens, a first-of-its-kind for the industry. The Roshans pulled no stops and targeted at least 12 new overseas centres to achieve new box-office milestones. The result, film promoters and pundits said, was a no-brainer: Bang Bang, everybody said, would severely dent Haiders business, and set new, difficult to emulate benchmarks in Bollywood. In short, Haider was facing at the spectre of premature death, even before it was born! Finally, as expected, Bang Bang opened to packed halls, and Haider started with vacant front rows. But, something had happened just before the release of the Film. Haider, buoyed by positive reviews, was fast becoming the talk of the town, and that meant more footfalls to theatres showing the film. The film started getting tremendous word-of-mouth publicity on the very first day. Bang Bang’s mixed reviews also contributed to it but the superstars were still there. The social media pitched in and Haider proved to be a winner from the word go. Those who liked it, and even those who dissed it for its political leanings, ensured that the film kept trending for three days. Then protests started and Haider became the talk of the town. People had reservations against the film but not many doubted Haider as a weak film, not in front of Bang Bang at least. The craft of Haider was appreciated and the political ideology received support from opinion leaders. The underdog strategy worked for Haider and some supported it just because it was rearing its head against a high profile venture. Bang Bang kept gathering big bucks but that was still insufficient because of the film’s big budget. Haider was happy with a steady run and it turned out that its business didn’t receive a dip in the graph. At the end of week one, trade experts declared that Haider has made approximately Rs. 35 crore, much more than what it cost. But Bang Bang is not out of the picture yet. If rumours are to be believed, Hrithiks planning to appear on TV shows to promote it, something hes stayed away from for any of his films till now. Obviously, when the stakes are high, its only prudent that you revisit your strategy when you see the opposition running away with the title.
Posted on: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 12:21:16 +0000