Dostana earns Rs 75 lakh through paid-previews

MUMBAI: The characters of lead actors Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham, who pretend to be gay, in Karan Johar���s Dostana has aroused so much curiosity among audiences that they have flocked to theatres a day before the film���s official release to watch paid-previews.

In the past, some big-banner Hindi films have been promoted through the paid-preview route, but no film has seen such a response. Industry sources estimate that the film has earned Rs 75 lakh through paid-previews, overtaking Singh Is Kingg���s collection of Rs 50 lakh.

Paid-previews are screenings held a day before the release of a film. Most multiplexes charge about 30% premium while some sell tickets at regular rates for such previews.

Holding these previews is an important marketing strategy for producers and distributors as they ensure a successful opening weekend because the word of mouth gets around faster. Exhibitors are more than happy to hold paid-preview screenings as they get an added day of revenues from the film and can also charge a premium for tickets of these shows.

���Even though it���s a city-centric film, paid-previews have seen 100% booking even in small towns only because of its theme. Audiences are glad to pay a premium to catch a film like Dostana before its release,��� says Inox Cinemas vice-president (distribution and programming) Utpal Acharya.

Demand for paid-previews of Dostana was to such an extent that some theatres had to even increase the number of previews. ���Initially, we decided to hold eight previews, but since there were so many inquiries we increased the number to 11,��� says Cinemax vice-president (distribution and programming) Devang Sampat.

���Paid-previews give exhibitors an added day of revenues and it gives distributors a chance to promote films. The idea of paid-previews has been around in Hollywood for a while and has caught up in India in the past few months with Bollywood becoming aggressive on marketing too,��� says PVR cinemas general manger (sales and marketing) Ranjan Singh.

Paid-previews are already paying off as certain multiplexes are seeing 100% bookings for the film for the weekend. ���Our Nariman Point property has no tickets available till Sunday. We are running 12 shows a day currently, but because of the response we are looking at increasing the number of shows now,��� says Mr Acharya.