Posts Tagged ‘most’

Most Successful Bollywood Movie 2008, Biggest Bollywood Movie Hits of 2008

February 6th, 2010

All ye’ Bollywood fans and Bollywood lovers are interested in knowing which indeed was the most successful Bollywood movie of 2008. Is it Ghajini or Golmaal Returns? Or is there other clear winner? What do trade guides show? Which Bollywood movie truly rocked 2008? Is the most successful Bollywood movie of 2008, also your favorite movie?

Presenting here are the hits, superhits and blockbusters Bollywood movies of 2008, including a brief review. The movies are arranged according to their time of release.

1. Jodhaa Akbar : Released on February 15′ 2008, Jodhaa Akbar, directed by Bollywood most prolific director Ashutosh Gowariker, was a semi hit. It went on to do a business of Rs. 62 crores . Hrithik Roshan was the USP of the film, he played Akbar so well that the historic figure is now synonymous with the actor.
2. Race: Released on March 21′ 2008, Race was the first big hit of 2008. An edge of the seat thriller, the movie directed by Abbas-Mustan was full of twists and turns. As of May 30, it grossed Rs.63,67,00,000 ($14,886,600) in India, and $9,505,321 in other parts bringing a worldwide total of $24,391,921. Race is actually the fifth biggest hit of 2008.
3. Jannat: Jannat, directed by Kunal Deshmukh, was a Mukesh Bhatt film, released on May 16. Based on cricket betting, the movie extracted the career best performance of Emran Hashmi. Debutante Sonal Chauhan made a pretty picture in the movie. Jannat grossed 32,47,00,000 in 5 weeks, quite higher than its cost of production.
4. Aamir: One of the dark horse hits of 2008, Aamir directed by Raj Kumar Gupta released on June 6. The movie starring Rajeev Khandelwal was a story about how an innocent man gets trapped in the hands of religious extremists who want to bomb the city. An interesting premise, the movie did good business.
5. Sarkar Raj: Sarkar Raj, directed by Ram Gopal Verma released on June 6 2008. The movie was a semi-hit; people compared Sarkar Raj to its prequel Sarkar, and found that the sequel was not as effective as the first one. Nevertheless, it grossed 34 crores in India in its first two weeks and over $1 million in the USA.
6. Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na: Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, released on July 4 2008; directed by Abbas Tyrewala and produced by Aamir Khan, was the iconic movie of 2008. The movie was a blazing hit and it is still the favorites of the youth segment, which forms a major part of the movie going audience. The youthful movie had a cliched but entertaining story with fantastic music by A.R.Rahman. in 5 weeks, it earned approximately 52.96 crores.
7. Singh is Kinng: Singh is Kinng was a movie, all Akshay Kumar fans were waiting for. Released on August 8, 2008; the movie recorded the biggest advance booking in the history of Bollywood, second only to Ghajini. With a fantastic figure of Rs.44 crores in the first week, Singh is Kinng was the fourth biggest hit of Bollywood 2008. By September, it had already earned Rs.73 crores.
8. Bachna Ae Haseeno: Released on August 15, 2008, Bachna Ae Haseeno proved to be a solace for Yash Raj films which had only given flops before this, in 2008 like Tashan and Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic. Made on a budget of Rs.18 crores, this Ranbir Kapoor earned Rs.31.20 crores in its second week, and was declared a semi hit.
9. Phoonk: Phoonk directed by Ram Gopal Verma was probably the least expensive movie, which did good business. The movie based on black magic was a success because of the subject.
10. Mumbai Meri Jaan: Mumbai Meri Jaan, released on August 22′ 2008 was a movie based on 7/11 bomb blasts. A slightly documentary style film, it focussed on the repercussions of the bomb blasts. The movie was an an above average hit. The USP of the film was a power packed performance by Paresh Rawal and Irrfan Khan.
11. Rock On!!: Rock On(released August 29′ 2008), directed by Abhishek Kapoor and produced by Farhan Akhtar, was another youth favorite, like Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. Based on friendship and rock music, Rock On was treated like a sequel to the cult movie Dil Chahta Hai. It made singer-actor-producer-director(phew!) Farhan Akhtar, a household name.
12. A Wednesday: A Wednesday, released on September 5 2008, is the dark horse success of 2008. A powerful script, impeccable dialogues and a unique treatment by director Neeraj Pandey, made this probably the most watchable movie of 2008. Naseerudin Shah proved that he is inimitable when it comes to stellar performance.
13. 1920: A spooky movie directed by Vikram Bhatt(released Sep 12′ 08) was high on horror around a haunted palatial house. Newbies Rajneesh Duggal and Adah Sharma gave a spirited(no pun intended!) performance. The fantastic English locales and visual effects proved to be the USP of the film.
14. Welcome to Sajjanpur: Welcome to Sajjanpur, released on September 19 2008 was director Shyam Benegal’s entry to commercial cinema. The movie shot in rural set-up brought back memories of Malgudy Days and fared well at the box office.
15. Fashion: Fashion directed by Madhur Bhandarkar, gave a push to Priyanka Chopra who went down-slide with four back to back flops in 2008. It appealed to the youth and the upper crust and did good business.
16. Golmaal Returns: Released on the same date as Fashion(October 29′ 2008), Golmaal Returns was a run-away super hit. Though marred by critics, it was declared a huge success by the masses. It surpassed the first day totals of Om Shanti Om, last year, by collecting 22.03 lakhs on day one. This Rohit Shetty venture earned Rs.48 crores in the first week, making it the third biggest hit of 2008.
17. Dostana: Dostana directed by Tarun Mansukhani for Karan Johar released on November 14′ 2008. The story of two men Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham, who pretend to be gays, and fall in love with eye-candy Priyanka Chopra made the box office smile. By December 12, it had already earned Rs.80 crores.
18. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi: One of the much awaited movies, the Shahrukh Khan starrer Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, released on December 12′08. Made on a modest budget of Rs.22 crores by Yash Raj standards, Aditya Chopra directed this movie to success. The movie also featured debutante Anushka Sharma. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi earned 7.5 crore net all over India and by day 1, and earned Rs.44.5 crores by week 1. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is the second biggest hit of 2008.
19. Ghajini: The most awaited movie Ghajini, proved to be a record breaking success. The most successful movie of the year and perhaps one of the all time big hits, this Aamir Khan movie directed by A.Murgadoss proved recession cannot beat quality. Released on December 25, 2008, this remake of the Southern movie of the same name is running quite strong, thanks to the Aamir Khan brand power. On Day 1, Ghajini earned Rs.33 crores,(compared to Rs.18 crore of Rab Ne) worldwide, something which is unheard off. Ghajini is all set to pass Rs.100 crores in three weeks, overtaking the lines of previous two years biggies Om Shanti Om(Rs.80 crores) and Dhoom 2(Rs.85 crores).

Conclusion 2008: Ghajini has proved to be a big money spinner for Bollywood. The year 2008 has pooled in 15 percent or Rs.900 crore more than last year. Call it the Pareto Principal, if you will but Rab Ne and Ghajini have added another 20 percent more to the box office collection of movies preceding them. Masala films and movies based on ‘terror issues’ dominated 2008.

So, here is the countdown of the top 5 films of Bollywood 2008:
5. Race
4. Singh is Kinng
3.Golmaal Returns
2. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi
1. Ghajini

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Posted in Movie

Tags: 2008 Biggest Bollywood Hits most Movie Successful

American Idol Babylon – Idol’s Most Sordid Scandals

January 24th, 2010

When you participate on a show like American Idol, it is inevitable to come across some bumps along your road to the singing competition, as well as your journey beyond your Idol stardom. Sometimes you become the subject matter of hot gossips and controversies, which, more often than not, connotes that you have obtained a sufficient amount fame and popularity enough to rouse the media to give your name even more hype. One the other hand, not all hype is positive news. In fact, the lingering and much talked about news are those of downbeat and scandalous tittle-tattles.

Let’s have a recap of the most attention-grabbing scandals that has surrounded American Idol over the past six years.

Starting with Antonella Barba, former American Idol season 6 contestant, the girl who became a hot and popular downloadable item on the Internet. Barba has acquired mainstream attention and has endured massive criticisms over the emergence of topless photographs.

Next on the list is American Idol season 2 former contestant Frenchie Davis, who, like Barba, also has escalated to fame with the surfacing of her topless photos on the Internet. The difference is that Davis got disqualified on American Idol while Barba was not, which actually roused many activists and a few TV personalities to pass judgment on the popular show.

Another American Idol contestant who made the news is Jim Verraros, former season one finalist. During his inclusion on the show, he became very open about his gay persona but rumor has it that the Fox network wasn’t open to his sexuality.

Of course, there is also that sex scandal which pinned the only female Idol judge to controversy. Corey Clark, former season 2 contestant, has claimed that he and Paula Abdul had a sexual affair. Although Abdul has denied this matter, the issue just won’t fade.

Rounding up the list are Chris Sligh, former American Idol 6 contestant, who became famous for his “Hi Dave” shout out, and Mario Vazquez, former season 4 contestant, who mysteriously withdrew from the competition.

For more resources about American Idol and especially about American Idol Babylon – Idol’s Most Sordid Scandals please review http://www.buddytv.com

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Posted in Gossips

Tags: American Babylon Idol Idol's most Scandals Sordid

Why most Canadian films TANK at the box office?

January 23rd, 2010

…and how to turn this situation around.

The first time I ever set foot on a movie set was back in 2001 (working as a boom operator on a Sarah Polley short film). Since that day my passion for making movies has only grown and intensified. But one underlining question that continues to run through my mind is…why do most (95% or more) Canadian films tank at the box office.

Ask any Canadian filmmaker this question and you’re sure to start up a very long and never-ending conversation that might leave you wonder what made you want to open that can of worms. Well, I’m going to open the can of worms…just for this article. I’m so proud to be Canadian and our industry produces world-class movies year after year, however, these films just don’t seem to make any money (profit).

I found a great article by Canadian actor, writer and producer, James O’Regan that explores this matter in further detail:

Over the last year or so, a great teeth-gnashing has broken out within the Canadian Movie industry. Producers and their public sector confreres at Telefilm Canada sat down to wonder why no-one saw Canadian movies in the theatres. And now Telefilm has unveiled new money to throw at the problem.

In case you don’t know, Telefilm Canada is an arms length crown agency that has no public accountability via a “value for money” audit unless its own board of directors thinks it needs one – wow, get me on that gravy train, quick! It has generated, over the last 30 years, an industry wholly ignorant of Canadian theatrical film markets and wholly dependent on cultural welfare in the mistaken belief that you just can’t make any dough here a mare usque… I and every American film distribution company on the planet know different. I know because I’ve made money in the Canadian box office, in fact more money on one film than all Telefilm films on average. My short comedy, Edsville – about an innocent young couple that stumbles upon a town of Ed Sullivan impersonators – has a recoupment rate of 20% while the average recoupment rate published in Telefilm’s annual report, year after year, hovers at 2%-ish. I’ve also observed what our Yankee cousins actually do. All you have to do is ask them and they’ll actually tell you – hey, who knew?

So let’s see what it takes to make money and sell movies in Canadian moviedom. Here’s the top 12 for anyone who wants to make $8M on a movie in three weeks in Canada:

Rule # 1: No one knows what sells

Rule # 2: See Rule # 1, no, seriously, memorize Rule #1. I’m not saying this only to make the list apostolic, really. I could make something else up.

Rule # 3: Anything that helps sell is good

Rule # 4: The public will pay to see things or people they really like

Rule #5: Exploit people or things that the public likes

Rule #6: The Canadian Public doesn’t care who directs, writes or produces movies

Rule #7: The Canadian Public pays to see “people” on the screen. Actors are the Product

Rule # 8: The Canadian Public loves Stars

Rule # 9: Make sure you have a story

Rule #10: Comedy Sells (Canadians are masters of comedy)

Rule #11: Do everything you can to ensure the Canadian Public knows about the movie

Rule #12: To the risk taker goes the reward. All else is bunk.

To manufacture and market a Canadian movie to the Canadian market, you have to invest $3.5M. Making the movie costs CDN $2.5M. Marketing the movie for a 100 screen three week release costs CDN $1M.

Let’s take a look at how much money you can make. A 100-screen release can generate up to $16M in revenue. If you control the marketing with your $1M, you get $8M back from your $3.5M investment. Isn’t math for fun and profit great?

If you don’t spend that $1M, you are guaranteed to make nothing at the Canadian box office. Telefilm Canada and its producers don’t spend the money and the results are predictable. Movies funded by Telefilm Canada don’t earn a profit from Canadian box office; they don’t even recoup. Telefilm Canada data shows that Canadian distributors have an average marketing budget per Canadian film of $30,000 – about $970K short of what they need; that this average results from a blend of a majority of films released with an actual budget of less than $10,000. Hoo boy, why aren’t these films making the big bucks, eh?

Let’s say it again for the benefit of Telefilm and its Canadian producers, you must spend $1M regardless of a movie’s budget to have a chance at success.

Had the recent Egoyan opus, The Sweet Hereafter, received $1M in Canadian marketing highlighting the divine Sarah Polley, it might have made some bucks. After all, Polley has a following in Canada – more of a following than Egoyan. Yet it was Egoyan that the producers tried to market, not Polley. The little money that was spent was spent foolishly – see rule #6.

Even a American B movie like Nurse Betty gets the full $1M marketing treatment. Learn the lesson from American distributors who know better; who do spend $1M for each film they release in Canada.

Here’s the best part about making sacks of cash in Canada. Manufacturing, distribution and marketing infrastructure are all 100% in place. All you have to do is come up with a movie to market and some cash to market it with. Hey, pinch me!

Why isn’t it working now? Why is Telefilm’s record so dismal? Public policy has intervened in the movie business only at the level of manufacturing – dolling out wallops of cash to make movies. The new funds maintain that approach. This is simply bad policy and we have bank vaults full of unseen films to prove it.

The only successful public policy intervention on the books are Canadian Content (CanCon) rules for the Canadian music industry. There, public policy told the radio stations (the exhibitors) that they had to play a percentage of Canadian music or else they would be shut down. Today, we have a thriving music industry with big Canadian stars.

Before CanCon in the music industry, Canadian Radio stations played about 3% of Canadian content. After CanCon, it became 30%. Can-con drove the business of the Canadian music industry. It supported the early market-driven development of Canadian music stars. It allowed financial and artistic success in the small Canadian market. Remember there was no success before Can-con rules for the music industry. That Canadian-based market success worked as a springboard to world success for many Canadian performers. It took a while to work but work it did.

Marketing is simple. It just costs money. With its new infusion of funds, it appears that Telefilm will try to mystify the process per usual, read the entrails and divvy up the dough without recognizing rule # 1 – no one knows what sells. That is the mystery and joy of movie selling – ya just don’t know and no-one can give you the magic bullet, i.e. previous box office records, e.g. think how many major studios have hit rock bottom with a series of losers only to bounce back “unexpectedly.”

If public policy is going to intervene, it should get out of movie production and into the marketplace with CanCon for Canadian cinemas. Set a quota, step out of the way and voilà: in five years, we will have a thriving movie business with big Canadian stars. Movie producers are much better at making movies than cultural bureaucrats. I know, call me crazy, but it’s true.

CanCon rules for the Canadian movie business are one means of helping create movies and movie stars without spending a lot of tax dollars. That’s all they do. Canadian movies don’t need it to succeed but if government is to intervene to help reward risk, then that’s the best way and means of intervention, and cheaper too.

For public policy, how bad could it be to issue an “initiative” to exhibitors across the country, insisting that 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% of product viewed in Canadian cinemas must be indigenous Canadian product over a period of years. Then stand aside and let the industry do what it does best: sell movies.

Hey, it ain’t that hard. After all, no one, not even Hollywood, knows what sells. Remember rule #1?

How to turn this situation around?

Now, it’s time for me to add in my two cents worth. We (the Canadian film industry) need more film studios here in Canada. I’m not talking about some glorified soundstage like Filmport but a full-fledged independent movie studio that has 100% control of the financing, development, production and worldwide distribution of their movies. These Canadian movie studios should have only two objectives:

1)     To make movies that will entertain millions of people around the world. Focus on giving moviegoers what they want and according to the current all-time North American box office stats…people want to see movies with Action, Animation and Special effects. Success leaves clues.

2)   To maximize profits.

That’s it. When that day happens, then we’ll definitely see a lot more Canadian films reaching the #1 spot at the box office. Both domestically and overseas.

Ian Agard
Filmmaker & Author of “Stop Waiting and Make Your Movie” 
http://www.ianagard.com 

P.S. Get info about my new ebook at:

http://www.ianagard.com/how-to-finance-your-movie

Ian Agard is film producer,screenwriter and director living in Toronto. Go to http://www.ianagard.com where Ian reveals more useful tips to boost your filmmaking career.

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Posted in Film & Animation

Tags: Canadian films most office TANK

Most Popular 3D Animation Studios

December 25th, 2009

3D animation is more prominent today than ever before. Movies are faster, bigger and better than ever before and studios have enabled that to happen. Of course, all studios work in a different way, so they all use certain processes that they feel will work for them. Some of the most popular and well known studios are Pixar and Dreamworks, which both offer exceptional quality alongside a wealth of experience. Both studios delve in a range of sectors of the film and animation industry, and are both market leaders.

Pixar

Pixar Animation Studios is one of the most popular in the world; some of the best movies ever to hit the big screen have been produced here. They are a GCI animation company and the company was originally developed in their base in Emeryville, California, United States.

Pixar is not actually as old as a lot of people think. It was originally created back in 1979, and was a sub sector of Lucasfilm. Back in 1986 it was purchased by Steve Jobs and was purchased by The Walt Disney Company in 2006, which meant a huge investment and development would follow.

Don’t be fooled by their comic image, Pixar are deadly serious. They have produced 10 films which could literally be described as smash hits and will be remembered by many for years to come. The first feature film was released back in 1995, which was Toy Story, and since then they have released three more Toy Story films due to its success! Others films that they have produced include A Bug’s Life, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, WALL-E and even the Incredibles!

Their success still continues and they are winners of multiple awards in a range of categories including:

Twenty-two Academy Awards

Four Golden Globes

Three Grammys

Of course, these are just the major awards, which offer great significance. Along their journey as an animation company Pixar have picked up a range of other awards, as well as rave reviews from industry critics.

Like most companies, they need to offer an area of specialty, or what is known in business terms as a unique selling point. For Pixar, this is their CGI-animated feature films. They use PhotoRealistic RenderMan as part of their process which enables them to create such high quality images.

DreamWorks

Like Pixar, DreamWorks is one of the well known and reputable 3D animation studios that are currently producing films. The company, DreamWorks, LLC is also known as DreamWorks Pictures, DreamWorks SKG or DreamWorks Studios.

It seems their portfolio of work spans slightly further than that of Pixar. They boast a range of films, video games, and television programming, where as Pixar now just focus on producing features films.

DreamWorks began as an idea in the early 90’s but became a reality for the creators in 1994. The three creators Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen were not to know they had just stumbled upon a multi billion pound 3D animation company, and over 15 years later, they are still going strong.

Whilst this was a company developed by a small range of individuals, they all chose to go their separate ways. In 2005 the company got an offer they could not refuse from Viacom, and the deal was eventually completed by 2006. Just two years later and DreamWorks were on a mission, they made a huge announcement that their partnership, that had been cherished for so long, would be coming to an end. They signed a $1.5 billion deal which would mean they’d be working in conjunction with India’s Reliance ADA Group producing films.

The DreamWorks animation sector of the business became so big that in 2004 it was eventually developed into a public company, working from two studios!

As far as their success goes, it shows similar dominance to that of Pixar. DreamWorks has managed to develop 10 outstanding films. Each of these has been box office hits, with revenue figures well in excess of $100 million. Of course, there is always a film that stands out from the crowd, or that makes a company what it is today and for DreamWorks, that was Shrek 2. This was their most popular film to date.

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Posted in Film & Animation

Tags: Animation most Popular Studios

Most Profitable Movies of All Times

December 10th, 2009

Movies, just like any other form of business, are investments for their makers. When decisions are made about whether to make the movie or not, the business people ask, how much money can we make?

Just like going to the bank and looking for the best investment, filmmakers look for the best investment. Some look for the best script that will make the most money or the best director that will drive people to the box offices. Others look for the best actor or lately the best computer animator to win the Oscar. Some look for the best budget for the project so they can have all the special affects and make extra dollars for the creators.

Movies, apart from entertainment for the crowd, are money making machines. It is the difference between what goes out and what comes in that will determine the success.

Surprisingly, some of the best movies of all times have made enormous profits, with over 7104 times the investment profit.

Number 1 – most profitable movie of all time
The most profitable movie of all time is “The Blair Witch Project” (1999). The movie tells the story of three young students who get lost in the woods while filming a documentary about a local legend. After several horrific days, they all disappear without any sign but their video and sound equipment. The brilliance of the movie was in the making and marketing. The actors, who were given a vague description of the plot, acted in such a way that the audience perceived it as a real documentary movie. This low budget movie was around $35000 and profit was 7107 times the initial investment and reached a top of $ 248,662, 839. No joke!

Number 2 – most profitable movie of all time
The second most profitable movie of all times is “American Graffiti” (1973), a George Lucas movie. This movie was a low budget movie. It was the first movie to use Rock and Roll music because it was the cheapest Lucas could afford. The film escorted a group of recently graduated teens and their stories during one night of hanging out on the streets in the summer of 1962. The movie was nominated for 5 Oscars and 5 other nominations and 7 other awards. The budget of the movie was $750,000 and the profit was 153 times more at $115,000,000.

Number 3 – most profitable movie of all time
The third most profitable movie of all time is, believe it or not, “Snow White and the Seven dwarves”, an animated movie from 1937 from Disney’s art room. “Snow white and the seven dwares” was Walt Disney’s first full- length production and told the Brothers Grimm story of little Snow White hunted by her wicked step mother and saved by the adorable 7 dwarves. The budget for the movie was $1,488,000 (a proof that Walt Disney was a great visionary) with a profit of 126 times, resulting with $187,670,866 profit.

After the first three most profitable movies of all time, come others with an enormous profit rate:
“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” (1975) with ratio of 116 times the investment.
“Rocky” (1976) with 106 times the investment
“Gone with the Wind” (1939) with 102 times profit.
In seventh place, “E.T” (1982) with profits of 75 times the investment.
And in eighth place, “My big fat Greek Wedding” with an initial investment of 5 million dollars and profit of $368,744,044.

As you can see, the size of the budget does not matter.

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Posted in Film & Animation

Tags: most movies Profitable Times