Trailers of recent films like SPYder, Paisa Vasool, Gautham Nanda, LIE, Katamarayudu, Duvvada Jagannadham, etc garnered millions of views within hours of release, making the audiences believe that the films were worth waiting for! But in what can be termed as a huge discrepancy, the films only disappointed and failed to live up to the hype created by their first look and multiple over the top trailers.
Take for example the Mahesh Babu-starrer, SPYder, one of the most-awaited films of the year, which generated an unprecedented buzz. However, the spy-thriller went crashing down at the box office. The film grossed Rs 100 crores (gross) within just one week, but subsequently, the decreasing footfalls proved that the film failed to impress the audience.
One of the producers of the bilingual film, N. V. Prasad, admits, “We were pretty kicked during the making and the trailer got a fantastic response too. We believed the script had the potential to be a box-office winner and experimented with it, but the film disappointed us.”
Ditto for Paisa Vasool, starring Balakrishna! After director Puri Jagannadh unveiled an unseen side of the Nandamuri scion in the trailer, everyone believed that Balayya’s fans were in for a treat. And the interesting combination of Balayya Puri only added to the excitement. But despite an encouraging opening grossing more than Rs 20 crores (gross) initially, the action-drama fizzled out soon enough!
Puri explains, “The trailer has nothing to do with a film’s box office fortunes. We make films believing in a story’s idea, and the trailer only gives the audience a glimpse of the kind of a film they are about to see. For example, the response for the trailer of one of my films Itlu Sravani Subramanyam was ordinary, but the film was a smash hit. I agree trailers are vital in generating a buzz around the film, and generally we spend enough time at the editing table to cut out the best trailer, but sometimes films fail.”
Also joining the club of films whose impressive trailer failed to cash in at the box office, is Duvvada Jagannadham. Although the film raked in around Rs 70 crores in its opening week, the audiences couldn't help giving it a cold shoulder. Even the Pawan Kalyan-starrer, Katamarayudu met the same fate and was watched mostly by his fans.
So in what way does this discrepancy impact the trade circle? “That’s the nature of business; it’s uncertain and is a gamble. If the trailer is exciting, naturally it will help the film’s trade. I thought the trailer of Gautham Nanda was impressive and the film would strike a chord, but I ended up suffering a 40 percent loss,” reveals distributor D. Suresh, who released the Gopichand-starrer, Gautham Nanda in the West Godavari region after seeing its promising trailer.
He further adds, “Generally, we try to seek the opinion of the crew who worked for that film before buying the rights. But there’s no guarantee that the film will work every time.”
The trailer of Nithiin’s LIE, too, promised a lot, but the action drama ended up being a damp squib. Producer Sudhakar Reddy (Nithiin’s father) feels that the expectations created by the trailer put pressure on the film release. “Every filmmaker cuts his best scenes and showcases them in the two minute trailer. After getting a good response, the audience flocks to the theatres with a pre-defined notion. And if the film fails to reach those expectations, it is rejected. I guess the same happened with LIE.”
