Over the years, PVR INOX Pictures, the motion picture arm of PVR INOX Limited, has distributed some interesting films, including the Tom Hanks-starrer Here, the Academy Award favourite Conclave, the critically acclaimed White Bird, and From The World Of John Wick: Ballerina, among others. Last week, they released the crowd favourite, Shin Chan: The Spicy Kasukabe Dancers In India, and now they are gearing up to bring The Smashing Machine to cinemas in India. It focuses on the life of MMA legend Mark Kerr and promises to present Dwayne Johnson in a never-before-seen avatar. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, the young and enterprising Nayana Bijli, Director of PVR INOX Pictures, discusses the release of The Smashing Machine on October 10, their marketing strategy, future plans, and more.
EXCLUSIVE: Nayana Bijli on releasing OSCAR-buzzing The Smashing Machine and PVR INOX Pictures’ push for global cinema in India; opens up on Farhan Akhtar’s special shoutout for Dwayne Johnson-starrer: “We got very lucky with that post…Dwayne is the PERFECT fit for this film”
What was the process of acquiring The Smashing Machine for a release in India?
The Smashing Machine is a very special film because it’s firstly directed by Benny Safdie. He’s had a very strong record with Uncut Gems (2019). It is produced by A24, with whom we have worked for many years. We knew that they would do a fantastic job when it comes to even marketing the film. Thirdly, the cast is very enticing. For the first time, we’ll see Dwayne Johnson in such a role. It’s a very relatable drama as it’s about Mark Kerr, who is an MMA and UFC champion. The combination of these factors, along with the theme of the film – it focuses on the emotions behind the athlete – made us confident that it’ll resonate with the Indian audience.
Farhan Akhtar made a lovely post on this. Please tell us about it and also the marketing strategy applied for The Smashing Machine.
The film was very well received at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival. For us, the marketing strategy has to be as granular as we can. There’s a strong MMA and UFC community in India. We reached out to UFC India, UFC Gym India, Marina Boxing Academy etc. In all, we contacted 67 influencers who we thought would be relevant to the theme of the film. Consequently, we have got 500 thousand views on the trailer. A lot of it is organic, as people are very interested in the subject. Similarly, that’s what happened on the celebrity front. We got very lucky with the post by Farhan Akhtar. I think it’s a film that speaks to people and would speak to people more once it releases. Because it’s Dwayne Johnson, I guess we are also seeing such organic growth.
There’s a strong buzz in the West that Dwayne Johnson will get his first Oscar nomination thanks to The Smashing Machine…
Yes. This is his first attempt at drama and playing such a serious role. But I also think that because of his character, he is the perfect fit for this film. He has that experience in the wrestling world. Everyone is probably just curious and wondering if he could pull it off. I am hoping that this curiosity will bring people to watch the film.
What would be the screen count for The Smashing Machine?
We are anticipating a 100-200 screen release. We’ll see how it picks up in the first week and then we’ll see how the response is online and at the ticket counter. We are keeping it limited, focusing mostly on the urban areas, because it’s a drama and biographical film, even though it has a backdrop of sports and association of Dwayne Johnson.
I guess it’s also about selecting the right theatre and going through the data of each cinema hall before taking the call of where a film of this kind should release…
Absolutely. We go through the historical data and see what’s worked well. Our cinema managers are very good at maintaining a roster of people. We know who comes to our cinemas. We are into the distribution business, but at the end of the day, our core is exhibition. So, we know who has come to our property, what is the demand, what do people want more of etc. That shapes our programming and also helps our distribution decisions as well. So, it’s all about keeping track of what’s doing well where, ensuring we meet the demand and adjusting the programming based on what people desire.
When it comes to Hollywood titles, we definitely know the cinemas where we have to release. But once it’s released, we continue to ascertain how it is tracking, do people need more of it, do people need less of it etc.
Which films will PVR INOX Pictures be releasing in India after The Smashing Machine?
We have a very strong line-up. On October 17, we’ll release Good Fortune, starring Keanu Reeves. This will be followed by Nuremberg, starring Rami Malek and Russell Crowe and Now You See Me: Now You Don’t. We’ll also release Eternity, Christmas Karma, Marty Supreme, etc.; the latter is directed by Benny Safdie’s brother Josh Safdie. For each of these films, there’s a different audience. So, we’ll be very intentional about what kind of marketing and activation we do, influencers we touch base with etc. We are gearing up for it internally right now.
Last week, PVR INOX Pictures released Shin Chan: The Spicy Kasukabe Dancers In India. We see a rise in the demand for Japanese animated films. The performance of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba The Movie: Infinity Castle in Indian cinemas was an eye-opener. Going forward, would you like to bring more Japanese and even Korean, Thai and Chinese films to India?
Indeed. We keep track of what is working well and the collections generated by films of various genres and languages. That data helps us in our acquisitions primarily. We have been focusing on anime for 2-3 years and that’s what has been driving this flywheel effect. I was personally involved in the release of Suzume 2 years ago. Its director, Makoto Shinkai, had flown down as well. I personally saw the craze. We had house-full fan screenings and people had learned Japanese! They were screaming Makoto’s name; it was complete chaos and yet incredible. That made us aware that there’s a very strong response to Japanese films.
We have kept our ears to the ground. Whatever resonates, we try to acquire more of those titles. We also know that TV has increased the exposure to K-Dramas. Hence, we keep track of not just what’s working theatrically but also online. That further determines our theatrical acquisitions.
How does your father, Ajay Bijli, react to your progress?
(Smiles) We just keep marching ahead, ensuring that we have some good movies to watch. Also, he’s happy that we are all movie buffs (laughs). So, we just try to bring that passion to the business.
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