The Lunchbox Worldwide Success; Can It Change Perception Of Indian Filmmakers?

Nonpareil plot, colourful characters, exotic location, flamboyant costumes, cheesy dialogues, songs, dance are common objects that typified Bollywood in its non-traditional markets. Although, our industry tries time to time to break this tradition morality by making unconventional new age movies that might be recipe for global audiences too, apart from India. But, things have been not working out rightly as far now; we haven't achieved satisfying consequence yet. We can’t deny that many Hindi movies have got huge box office success in international market, but those movies are been mainly star driven and only lure NRI's, Indians who live outside of India. In many Asian and European continents like India's neighbour countries Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal have domination of Bollywood. But then again, they don't get proper theatrical release there and piracy is savior for them.

So, here question is, what impediments there are that works as fraction for our industry, not letting to establish a strong and consistent recognise in International market. And, we might find the answer of all questions in worldwide achievements of 
          The Lunchbox.

This is one of the most important movie happened in Bollywood. Worldwide success of highly critical epistolary love story, directed by Ritesh Batra starring Irrfan Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqi and Nimrat Kaur as lead role, The Lunchbox depicts not only a beautiful story, rather lot of things, solves lot of questions our industry has been seeking for. Internationally co-produced this movie has re-written history and proved that with decent strategies Bollywood can achieve every single possibility. And, I as a film lover strongly want Bollywood maker to learn from this movie. So, we're here to give a write up how, how much, where, what, when did The Lunchbox make money on international markets.

How Much, Where And When

Made on 9 crores production budget having  6.25 crores marketing cost, The Lunchbox released over 70 countries, still running in many countries and is to be release in rest, got such laudatory reviews across countries as well as grossed unimaginable box office across all over the world that might be astonished many of you. So, first have a look of its collection.

   Worldwide Box Office Of The Lunchbox

S.No.	Country	Release Date	Box Office (USD)	Box Office(INR)
1	Argentina	3rd July 2013	$45,626	0.28 cr
2	Australia	10th July 2013	$1,254,462	7.71 cr
3	Austria	13th Dec 2013	$239,926	1.47 cr
4	Belgium	11th Dec 2013	$212,057	1.3 cr
5	Brazil	28th Feb 2014	$119582	0.73 cr
6	Bulgaria	13th June 2014	$15,325	0.94 cr
8	Canada	21th Mar 2014	$970000	5.96 cr
7	Colombia	14th Aug 2014	$106,956	0.65 cr
9	Czech republic	30th Aug 2014	$10,407	0.06 cr
10	Finland	4th Apr 2014	$92,718	0.57 cr
11	France	11th Dec 2013	$4,100,000	27.22 cr
12	Germany	21th Nov 2013	$1,700,000	11.29 cr
13	Greece	4th Sep 2013	$34,372	0.21 cr
14	Hong Kong	6th March 2014	$185,048	1.13 cr
16	India	28th Sep 2013	$4,688,000	28.6 cr
15	Italy	28th Nov 2013	$554,000	3.68 cr
17	Mexico	14th Mar 2014	$144,673	0.89 cr
18	Netherlands	12th Dec 2013	$122,000	0.75 cr
19	New Zealand	18th Sep 2014	$189,251	1.16 cr
20	Norway	11th Apr 2014	$171,202	1.05 cr
21	Singapore	27th Mar 2014	$47,541	0.29 cr
22	Spain	30th Apr 2014	$169,192	1.04 cr
23	Sweden	25th Apr 2014	$448,856	2.76 cr
24	Switzerland	29th Sep 2013	$714,700	4.36 cr
25	Thailand	10th Apr 2014	$50,656	0.31 cr
26	Turkey	25th Apr 2014	$16,423	0.10 cr
27	UAE	11th Dec 2013	$500,000	3.07 cr
28	United Kingdom	11th Apr 2014	$800,271	4.92 cr
29	USA	28th Feb 2014	$4,235,151	26 cr
Total			$22,500,000	138.5 cr

*. All data have been compiled from various sources like Boxofficemojo, Rentrack, and Dar Motion Picture.
*. It’s estimated data since The Lunchbox is still running in many countries and also we couldn’t fetched box office of some big countries where it released like Japan. So, actual figure might be even bigger than it.

Ø The Lunchbox is rare movies which has done more business in overseas market than its domestic market. So far now only four Indian movies have achieved this feat.

 Domestic Market VS Overseas Market

S.No	Title	Year	Domestic BO	Overseas BO
1	Monsoon Wedding	2001-02	7.46 crores	121.9 crores
2	The Lunchbox	2013-14	28.6 crores	110 crores
3	My Name Is Khan	2010	71 crores	106 crores
4	Water	2005-06	1.68 crores	44.4 crores

Briefing Of Accolades & Box Office For Big Markets

India: The Lunchbox released on 28th September 2013 over limited 386 screens in India, distributed by Walt Disney UTV Studio. Upon release, The Lunchbox received widespread critical acclaim. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a score of 96% based on reviews from 92 critics. Other Indian review aggregator; BollywoodMovieReviewz and Review Gang both mentioned that The Lunchbox received the highest aggregate score of any Indian films earning a 4.38/5 and a 10/10 respectively. The rating has calculated by average rating of all popular Bollywood critic websites ratings.  

The Lunchbox started slowly grossed 1.25 crores on its opening day. But, rave reviews by critics and good word of mouth among movies buff helped to boost its business that is visible by its weekend collection 7.1 crores. It sustained afterward and finished giving profitable business total 28.6 crores, despite it hadn't regular content.

A Movie Still From The Lunchbox

First Weekend: 7.1 crores

First Week: 11.58 crores

Second Week: 7.25 crores

Total: 28.6 crores

European Countries: It's very interesting that a small film The Lunchbox did extensive business in non-traditional market. It ranked in combined Rs. 47.46 crores from only five European countries of France, Germany, Italy and The Netherlands. That is very rare, almost bigger than any Bollywood movies released in that territory.

In Germany, The Lunchbox has been grossed 11.29 crores there, completed consecutive 40 weeks and still running in theaters. In term of longest running movies, this is far ahead of any Indian movies have released there yet. Even it makes Hollywood to think hard of it.

French poster of The Lunchbox

In France, It grossed 27.22 crores that are almost equal of what it collected in its domestic market, India. This figure is outstanding and so immense that it might make you suspicious and even compel you not to believe. But, these are not only BO numbers which describe its unimaginable craze in France. The Lunchbox accolades can be recognize by other ways too , that is to be go to make you stunned.

Allocine.fr is a film portal website, treated as IMDb of France, which is frequently visited by Frances. I'm comparing some of biggest hit of Bollywood movies with this gem called The Lunchbox. You may get your answer.

  

  

  Indian Movies At Allocine Having Highest Number Of Voters

S.No	Title	Year	No Of Votes	Rating
1	The Lunchbox	2013	1,948	4
2	Devdas	2002	1,175	3.7
3	My Name Is Khan	2010	628	4.2
4	Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Ghum	2001	614	3.6
5	Veer Zaara	2004	321	3.6
6	Kal Ho Na Ho	2003	278	3.3
7	Lagaan	2001	255	3.5
8	Kuchh Kuchh Hota Hai	1998	180	4.1
9	Ugly	2013	166	3.4
10	Jodha Akbar	2008	145	4.2
11	Jab Tak Hai Jaan	2012	140	4.2
12	Gangs Of Wasseypur	2012	135	3.4

 *. We can see that The Lunchbox has no competition. It has its own league.

 *. Barring Lagaan, Ugly and Gangs Of Wasseypur, all are love story. It’s pretty clear that they are very fond of Bollywood love stories and when it comes to love stories Shah Rukh Khan has no match, neither in India nor outside. Nevertheless, The Lunchbox having no face value achieved grand success that could be watershed for other Indian films. 

*. It also convinces that director Anurag Kashyap, one of the producer of this film, has good recognize in France. Three films from the list belongs to him, among them Ugly is still to be release in India.

USA: The lunchbox achievements in this territory can't be used up in few words. So, I've come with some of surprising exposure.

Release Date:  February 28, 2014

Total Gross:    $4.2 million (INR:26 crores)

Opening Weekend Screen Count: 3

Highest Screen Count: 165; that happened on 9th week. This screen count is similar than many biggies Indian movies released in USA where they get these kind of wide screens in opening weekend itself.

Present Screen Count:  4, that is even more than what it got before 30 weeks on its release date. Amazing, isn't it??

Running Status:  224 days (32 weeks) as far now, still running.  In term of all time longest running Indian movies in USA, The Lunchbox is about to top.

           Longest Running Indian Movies Of All Time In USA

S.No.	Title	ReleaseDate	Close Date	In Release
1	The Lunchbox	Feb 28, 2014	Nil	224 days/32 weeks
2	Monsoon Wedding	Feb 22, 2002	Oct 3, 2002	224 days/32 weeks
3	Water	Apr 28, 2006	Oct 15, 2006	175 days/25 weeks
4	My Name Is Khan	Feb 12, 2010	May 6, 2010	84days/12 weeks
5	3 Idiots	Dec 23, 2009	Mar11, 2010	79days/11.3 weeks

• It is not only Indian movies whom The Lunchbox is giving stiff competition. Infact, It’s the longest running movies of 2014 released in USA as far now.

            Longest Running Movies In USA (Released In 2014 Only)

S.No	Title	ReleaseDate	Close Date	In Release
1	The Lunchbox	Feb 28, 2014	Nil	224days/32 weeks
2	The Lego Movie	Feb 27, 2014	Sep 4, 2014	210days/ 30weeks
3	Mr. Peabody & Sherman	Mar 7, 2014	Sep 14, 2014	182 days/26weeks
4	The Grand Budapest Hotel	Mar 7, 2014	Aug 28, 2014	175 days/25 weeks
5	Rio 2	Apr 11, 2014	Sep 4, 2014	147days/21 weeks
6	Captain America 2	Apr 4, 2014	Aug 21, 2014	140 days/20 days
7	God's Not Dead	Mar 21, 2014	Aug 7, 2014	140 days/20 days

Box Office Status:        What to say? See yourself.

Indian Movies In List Of Foreign Language Movies At USA Box Office

S.No	Name Of Movie	Release Date	BO (USD)	BO(INR)	Rank
1	Monsoon Wedding	Feb 22, 2002	$13.9 mil	66.6 cr	14th
2	Dhoom 3	Dec 20, 2013	$8.03 mil	47.37 cr	31th
3	3 Idiots	Dec 23, 2009	$6.53 mil	30.22 cr	47th
4	Water	Apr 25, 2006	$5.52 mil	24.56 cr	61th
5	Chennai Express	Aug 8, 2013	$5.3 mil	31.27 cr	67th
6	The Lunchbox	Feb 28, 2014	$4.23 mil	26 cr	83th
7	My Name Is Khan	Feb 12, 2010	$4.01 mil	18.9 cr	91th
8	Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani	May 31, 2013	$3.82 mil	21.58 cr	99th

How Did It Happen?

Story

First and foremost things, the story of the film is fairly universal and non-controversial, and relatable to a foreign audience despite its cultural specific.

Dar Motion Pictures' producer, Vivek Rangachari quotes, "I feel the success of this film is due to the global nature of the subject and its beautiful treatment. One of the learnings is that there is a large non-diaspora market ready to accept honest good Indian content. As they say, the more local the content, the more global its appeal." 

According to film critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh, it is a clear indication that powerful content can drive business globally. "It is a victory for content. If you see, there is no major star in the film. While Irrfan has some visibility in certain foreign markets like US and UK, female lead Nimrat is a newcomer even for the Indian audiences. For a movie to do so well, its content has to catch foreign audience's attention."

Official cross-border production

However, powerful content is only half the battle won. It needed to have a strong distribution plan to make the most of their foreign outing. “We could have got Dar Motion Pictures to invest all the money needed for the film. But we wanted it be an official international co-production”, says Ritesh Batra, director of The Lunchbox. His strategies worked out big time and helped this film to be turned out in a historical successful film across all over the world. The film is an official co-production between India, France and Germany. India has bilateral co-production treaties with Canada, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Brazil and the UK, among other countries.

Production Companies

·         Sikhya Entertainment (India)

·         DAR Motion Pictures (India)

·         National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) (co-production) (India)

·         ASAP Films (co-production) (France)

·         Rohfilm (co-production) (Germany)

·         Cine Mosaic (co-production) (United State)

·         Arte France Cinéma

Note: Sikhya Entertainment was previously known as Anurag Kashyap Film Pvt. Ltd.

"The film was heavily structured. There is an entity which has a 1% share of the profits and you value that" says Guneet Monga, producer and CEO at Sikhya Entertainment, the lead producer of the film.”

Advantages Of Cross-Border Production

1. Access to public funds of others countries; Europe, unlike the US and India, puts a lot of public money in cinema and by virtue of being an official co-production, The Lunchbox's French and German producers could access their respective public funds for the film. The film had a predominantly international crew, with Michael Simmonds, who shot Paranormal Activity 2, as the director of photography, and Max Richter, who worked on the Oscar-nominated animated film, Waltz with Bashir, as the composer. So that access to technicians of those countries, which in some cases is mandatory if their public money is involved. Moreover, the film was edited in executive producer Lydia Pilcher's office in New York and the music and sound was done in Berlin and the picture post-production was done in Paris.

2. Better distribution prospects; Since the distributor in the country which is co-producing the film gets financial support. In other global markets, it indeed was a conscious decision to partner with different distributors/distribution agencies. These distributors are leaders in their own region; the key criterion here was that they would be the best suited to ensure an optimal release for the film.

 3. Better telecast prospects in those countries; Arte, a Franco-German TV network, acquired the TV rights for the film. If The Lunchbox had been just an Indian production, getting the kind of theatrical release it got in France and Germany would have been an insurmountable task.

Another Factor Who Worked Out For The Lunchbox:

  Nimrat Kaur And Irrfan Khan At Cannes Film
Festival 2013 For Premiere Of 'The Lunchbox'

*. International Touch: Karsten Stoter, one of the co-producer of this film, notes that the multinational crew gave the film an international art-house touch. Names like Pilcher, Anurag Kashyap, a producer of the film, and Danis Tanovic, director of the Oscar-winning No Man'sLand who was a co-producer of the film, certainly helped generate interest in the film at festivals.

 *. Film Festivals generated curiosity: The Lunchbox was selected to be part of the International Critics Week at Cannes Film Festival in 2013, where it won the viewers' choice award. The film went to several other festivals; include Telluride Film Festival in Colorado, US, and the Toronto International Film Festival. "One of the lessons from The Lunchbox's success is how to build a film in the festival circuit, generate a conversation around it, and get the excitement back into the country for a theatrical release," says Ajit Andhare, chief operating officer, Viacom18 MotionPictures.

Conclusion??

"If films like Kahaani, Vicky Donor and Madras Cafe had the kind of collaboration The Lunchbox had, they could have become international films. How do we have so many American releases here but not many Indian releases abroad? We are not thinking on these terms, we are not encouraging our directors to take that route," says Irrfan Khan, actor of The Lunchbox who also worked for Hollywood films like The Amazing Spider Man and Life Of Pi.

We’re Thankful To,

The Economic Times

Dar Motion Picture Team

About The Author: Ankit Prakash is not a writer. He is just a simple movie lover.  He is a member of Team Bollywood CineTalk. This write up was written by him accidentally, partially. ;-)

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