Content is king: Sanju, Raazi prove release date is not the only driver of films' success

In Bollywood, the timing of the release of a film is one of the most important factors a producer pays attention to because it usually plays a big part in deciding how commercially successful a film will end up being.

But the performance of some recent releases shows that when quality content is on offer, viewers make it a point to catch the movie one way or other, regardless of whether it is released during a holiday period or not.

Three films released in the first half of 2018 proved that even in Bollywood, content could well be king. This shows that scrambling for lucrative dates for the release of a film is not the only way to ensure it is successful.

Rajkumar Hirani's Sanju is one such film. The Ranbir Kapoor-starrer has enjoyed nothing short of a dream run at the Box Office, having collected as much as Rs 261 crore within 10 days of its release. And this was without the advantage of a holiday period.

Sanju managed to set a new record for most revenue earned in the first week by a movie that had not been released in a holiday-period. The film released on a regular Friday, June 29.

Other recent examples of content driving a movie's revenue are Sonu ke Titu ki Sweety and Raazi. Both movies, released earlier this year, were medium-ticket films and were released on regular, non-holiday Fridays.

Sonu ke Titu ki Sweety crossed Rs 100 crore in collections with a budget of Rs 40 crore and Alia Bhatt-starrer Raazi earned Rs 122 crore with the budget of Rs 38 crore.

Another example of a successful movie released in a non-Holiday period is Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, the sequel to SS Rajamouli's Baahubali: The Beginning.

The film broke numerous records in terms of revenue, both in India and abroad, raking in over Rs 1,300 crore in all. At the time of its release, director Ram Gopal Verma had commented that the film's success is a wake-up call for Bollywood's release strategists.

Film trade analysts Taran Adrash had also tweeted that the movie needed neither Republic Holiday nor an Eid holiday or Christmas or Diwali to work its magic at the Box Office.

There is no doubt that holiday periods are lucrative for a film's commercial prospects, especially if the release date coincides with a holiday. But having said that, there are films that demand the same attention even if they are released on a regular day, simply because their content is good enough.