Maryam Farooqui Moneycontrol News
Indian films get a new lease of life when they release in theatres abroad. There are times when this second inning of a film can be a game changer. One such example is Salman Khan-starrer Bajrangi Bhaijaan that has beaten the overseas collection of two big-ticket films — Baahubali 2: The Conclusion and Aamir Khan’s PK.
Bajrangi Bhaijaan that opened in the Chinese market on March 2 has taken its overseas collection up to Rs 427 crore, surpassing the international business of PK that minted Rs 342 crore and Baahubali 2 which could only mint Rs 94 crore in the foreign market.
The Kabir Khan directorial is in its third week and has gathered global collections worth Rs 859.53 crore. The film ranks third in the list of Bollywood’s Top Worldwide Earners, beating PK which is at fourth position with Rs 831.50 crore and Baahubali 2 at fifth position with Rs 830.24 crore.
The international markets are not only important avenues for producers but these circles have also given them an additional safety net. In addition to this, China’s response to Indian films in the recent past has opened new opportunities for the industry back home. More and more foreign territories are being targeted.
According to a FICCI and EY report on Media and Entertainment sector, overseas theatricals contributed approximately 16 percent to the overall segment’s revenues in 2017, an increase of approximately 3x as compared to 2016.
The industry’s focus is more on two markets — North America and China. While the former has been in the list of traditional foreign markets for Indian films, the latter has just been included in that list post the success of 3 Idiots and Dangal. One of the reasons to not consider China as a traditional foreign market was the quota for Indian films which was limited to two in a year. But this quota was doubled last year.
The other traditional international markets for Indian films are United States, united Kingdom and United Arab Emirate, all of which are home to a significant Indian diaspora.
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