First day first show now on Thursday

Updating the ‘First Day, First Show’ phenomenon of Friday morning matinees, multiplexes across the city are screening paid previews of unreleased films late  on Thursday night–a day in advance.

A guaranteed full house is the main reason why multiplexes are choosing to organise paid preview shows, but an unbiased audience is another factor that multiplexes are hoping to cash in on. “Friday morning papers with their reviewers spoil the film for the audience. This is a great way of tapping the unbiased audience, who will give the film a chance,” says a distributor.

Tried and tested by Hollywood, the ‘paid preview’ concept has been introduced at several multiplexes in the city. Recently, Fame Cinema, Adlabs and Cinemax organised paid previews at the same price as regular shows, for much awaited films like Ram Gopal Varma’s Darna Zaroori Hai and Mahesh Bhatt’s Gangster. All the three enjoyed ‘house full’ shows.

The multiplex chain Cinemax has been pushing for paid preview screenings for a year now and says that it receives calls from viewers every week enquiring about the shows. Fame at Malad and Andheri, too, organised a paid preview for Darna Zaroori Hai and Gangster and registered house full shows.

“To keep audiences interested, multiplexes have to introduce new packages and promotions. Paid previews are just one of the many promotional activities that we do. We also have a children’s film week, MC Hunt and other such events,” says Shonali Shroff, head, corporate communications, Fame Cinema.

But not every film gets the paid preview status. Only those under big banners, with A-list stars, and loads of hype are wooed by multiplexes. Says Girish Wankhede, public relations manager, Cinemax, “Only films with a high curiosity quotient, say, an Amitabh Bachchan-starrer or a Shah Rukh Khan-Karan Johar combine will do well as paid preview films. It is important to know the pulse of the audience.”

For producers, too, paid previews act as an indicator of how the film will perform at the box office. The feedback they would have received on Friday evening they can now have on Thursday night itself. Director Madhur Bhandarkar said, “It is great for the viewer who is looking for something new but for a producer, it will act as added revenue only if the film is a success.”

With pirated VCDs available on the day of the film’s release, and viewers SMS-ing storylines, multiplexes and theatre owners have a tough job keeping the audience hooked. Free ticket schemes, discounts for college students, and special premiers are some of the many gimmicks multiplexes resort to, in order to keep the interest alive. Paid previews are one more addition to the multiplexes’ arsenal, at least for as long as there are takers.