In recent years, several films, including Laapata Ladies and the recently released Assi, arrived to weak ticket sales, but moviegoers eventually embraced them, pushing occupancy and higher box office returns .
Assi, a film released earlier this month, saw 40% higher occupancy on weekdays, and business insiders feel that word-of-mouth publicity often works in favour of films that may not have performed well on Day 1 or in the first week but gain momentum in the following weeks. There’s a term exhibitors use for films that make such a turnaround – sleeper hits. In recent years, several films have made such a turnaround, so we asked exhibitors to understand how sleeper hits work and what exactly defines a sleeper hit.
Box office analysts say that sometimes it takes time for audiences to discover films, and such films ride on word-of-mouth publicity. In recent years, 12th Fail and Laapata Ladies were some of the films that moviegoers discovered in later weeks.
Talking about sleeper hits and their box office success, Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, Executive Director, PVR INOX Limited, said, “Movies are an exciting business.
While we may have some big-banner films underperforming, some smaller films come out of nowhere and take you by surprise with their box office returns that overshadow their modest production budgets. A film that initially opens to modest or average box office collections but gradually gains popularity and commercial success through positive word of mouth, strong reviews, or growing audience interest over time is called a sleeper hit. Unlike big-budget blockbusters that have high expectations and large promotional campaigns, sleeper hits often start with low or moderate visibility and then unexpectedly achieve significant success. ”
He shared, “As demand grows, we increase the number of shows and expand to more screens and locations. Additionally, these films have extended runs at the box office.”
Devang Sampat, MD, Cinepolis India, adds, “A sleeper hit is an unexpected success story, where a film with modest expectations resonates deeply with audiences through compelling content and positive word-of-mouth. When such sleeper hits emerge, we dynamically increase showtimes and screen allocations across our multiplexes to cater to the growing audience demand, ensuring these films receive the exposure and theatrical run they deserve.”
Basically, initial-week success is not the only benchmark of a film performing well, and several films have also benefited from attention on social media.
Tanuj Garg, producer (of Ellipsis Entertainment), shares, “This is the era of sleeper hits, whether in theatres or on the web or both. The old-school rules are out of the window, as we’ve seen from the kind of films that have clicked and those that haven’t. With a few exceptions, the only kind of films being embraced are honest films – well told, well priced, and with robust word of mouth. It’s not about who as much as it is about what.”Exhibitors say that on average, if a film is a sleeper hit then its shows double within 10-12 days. However, there have been instances when a film had 500-600 shows on Day -1 and by 10-11th day because of the huge demand the
Akkshay Rathie, director of Aashirvad Theatres shares, “A sleeper hit is a film that doesn’t necessarily open with a bang, but opens through word of mouth and sustains over time consistently. The biggest example of a sleeper hit in recent years is 12th Fail, which opened with approximately Rs 1 crore and went on to make business of over Rs 50 crore.”
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