UTV's distribution strategy for 'The Namesake' pays off

Mumbai, May 2 (UNI) Mira Nair's 'The Namesake', a co-production between UTV Motion Pictures and Fox Searchlight, heralds the commercial acceptance of a new kind of English cinema in India, if the response of audiences is any indication.

Boasting of superb performances from Irrfan Khan, Tabu and Kal Penn, the film has emerged a stunning box office success in the Indian market.

An intimate family saga that spans continents and generations and yet stays close to the heart, 'The Namesake' has set a benchmark for Indian crossover films at the box office. The first Indian crossover film to be co-produced by an Indian company, 'The Namesake' has achieved the milestone of logging in one of the highest per print average collections for an Indian crossover film.

It has left other critically and commercially acclaimed films such as 'Water', 'Monsoon Wedding', 'Bend It Like Beckham', 'Bollywood Hollywood' and 'The Guru' far behind on this parameter, said Siddharth Roy Kapur, Executive Vice President- Marketing, Distribution and Syndication, UTV during an interaction with reporters today.

The film has generated a cumulative per print average gross box office (GBO) of Rs. 10,51,570 in only four weeks of release, with a Gross India Box Office of 6.62 crore for week ended April 27, he added.

Apart from the unparalleled content, the innovative distribution strategy adopted by UTV for the movie has acted as a catalyst to achieve success at the box office. Rather than going by the conventional distribution wisdom of maximum revenues with maximum prints, the film opened with a phase-wise release across the country, with just 48 prints in the top 10 cities in the first 7 days, Kapur said.

This breakthrough strategy has helped the film sustain presence across markets for more than four weeks and it is still successfully running in theatres across the country, he added.

UNI