Is the Dilwale trailer releasing too late?

In the last #LiveQnA session that was held on Sunday, nearly 350 questions were posted. We couldn’t answer all of them on Sunday, so we will try and answer a few more questions today.

Q. Isn’t it too late to release ‘Dilwale’ trailer just 1 month before release?

A. The trailer of Shah Rukh Khan’s Dilwale releases about 40 days before the theatrical release of the film. There will be ample time to effectively market an entertainer like Dilwale. Quite a few big films have released trailers of their films less than 45 days before the film hit theatres. The trailer of Salman Khan’s Bodyguard was released on 21st July 2011, the film was out 40 days later on 31st August 2011. Chennai Express trailer was also launched about 50 days before the film, the film was a huge success. On the other hand, Ra One theatrical promo was released months before the film, but it didn’t do as well as it should have.

In fact, releasing trailers of films way too early, can negatively impact the business of a film. For example, the makers of Akshay Kumar’s Baby released the trailer of their film on 3rd December, 51 days before the film released in theatres. But Baby did not have song promos to sustain the buzz that the trailer had generated. The result was a huge void, which was probably one of the reasons why Baby did not take a great opening at the box office.

The trailer of Dilwale is expected to be out on November 11 and the makers will be releasing one song promo every week, before the film eventually releases in theatres on December 18 2015.

A lot of people have also asked us if it’s a better idea for Dilwale to release on Dec 25, instead of Dec 18. Since all the holidays are 25th onwards, it does sound like a better date, but Shah Rukh and the team behind Dilwale are well aware of the pros and cons of each date. More often than not, it’s the smaller film that postpone / prepone their film to make way for a bigger film. Postponing Dilwale for Bajirao Mastani would create negativity. It doesn’t make much business sense either, as the makers of Dilwale have already acquired those important single-screens in mass centres. Bajirao Mastani is not the kind of film that is expected to make waves at single screens. Business at multiplexes will be divided. The number of shows will be about 25-30% lower than what it would get with a solo release, which will make it extremely difficult for the film to break opening / weekend records. Much like the opening day of Bang Bang, which would have been in the range of 30 – 35 crore, if not for Haider. These records can sometimes be important as when the mainstream media picks it up and makes it their headline, the film gets free publicity across news channels / newspapers, which results in increased footfalls during the all-important first weekend.

The big worry for both sides would the response that each film gets. If Bajirao Mastani is rejected and Dilwale is accepted, the impact of the clash on Dilwale won’t be more than 5-10% (as compared to a solo release). If both films carry good word-of-mouth, then the impact on both could be 15-30%, with Bajirao getting more affected than Dilwale. In case Dilwale is rejected and Bajirao finds appreciation, then the result could be similar to Jab Tak Hai Jaan vs Son Of Sardaar clash. Dilwale, due to its genre and SRK’s presence, should be the bigger grosser, irrespective of how it’s received.

Click to read Sunday’s QnA