MUMBAI: Gear up and get ready for a thrilling ride this month. Standing true to its ‘Stay Amazed’ tagline, Sony Pix will quench the viewers thirst for some high speed action on 19 June with the premiere of action film Furious 7 (FF7) at 1 pm with a repeat at 9 pm.
Starring Vin Diesel, the late Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Kurt Russell, and Jason Statham, the movie collected approximately Rs 141 crore in India and has grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide, making it the third highest-grossing film of 2015.
Directed by James Wan and written by Chris Morgan, the movie is a touching tribute to the Paul Walker. Amidst all the noise and the action lies the ferocity of friendship as the entire family re-unites. FF7 features gravity-defying stunts giving rise to a number of exciting and well-choreographed fight sequences with some stunning car chases. It’s a bittersweet feeling for the fans on seeing Paul Walker on screen again.
The channel has movie deals in place with NBCUniversal International Distribution under which it will now have access to movie titles from Universal Pictures. With this new deal in place, the three mega box office blockbusters of 2015 namely Jurassic World, Furious 7 and Minions will have television premieres on Sony Pix.
Pushing it further, the channel is extensively marketing the premiere of the movie. Marketing professionals are of the opinion that the channel has already spent between Rs 14 to 15 lakhs promoting FF7.
Industry experts have estimated that the deal between the channel and NBCU is between Rs. 7 to 9 crore for the entire Fast & Furious franchise. An industry expert opines, “The deal between Sony Pix and Universal for the entire Fast and Furious franchise cannot be for more than Rs 100 million (Rs 10 crore).” The channel has exclusive one year TV rights for FF7.
With a pervasive marketing strategy across print, TV and digital, the movie will also be promoted outside the network. It has routed a 360 degree approach which includes a strong outdoor campaign. Apart from this, social media is also buzzing with fans reminiscing about Paul Walker and gearing up for the premier of Furious 7.
Speaking about this, Sony Pictures Networks India EVP and business head – English cluster Saurabh Yagnik says, “For a blockbuster of this magnitude, we’ve adopted a 360 degree marketing approach which includes a television and print plan, innovative outdoor and an engaging social media campaign. Apart from Furious 7, we have movies like Jurassic World and Minions up next, both having crossed the $1 billion mark worldwide. This is truly a very amazing year for Sony PIX.”
Targeted at the young affluent mass comprising predominantly of males residing in towns, FF7 is presented by Motorola G4 Plus and is driven by Ford. Sony Pix managed to lasso99acres.com, Idea 4G, Myntra and Gillette as the associate sponsors. The channel has also partnered with Bollywood actor Ali Faizal who played an integral part in the Hollywood blockbuster and had quite a lot of memorable stories to share.
The movie is the highest grossing film in the Fast and Furious franchise and is Universal Pictures’ highest grossing film of all time in India. It is the second highest grossing Hollywood movie in India after The Jungle Book’s 2016 edition.
On the content front, the channel has also acquired exclusive rights to the biggest franchises like Hunger Games, Star Wars, Rocky, James Bond, Spider-man, Twilight and Ironman to name a few.
On 19 June Furious 7 will compete with other movies like the Robert Downey Jr and Chris Hemsworth starrer Avengers: Age of Ultron at 1:30 pm and Baby’s Day Out at 9 pm on Star Movies while on the other hand, Movies Now will broadcast another hit from the same franchise, Fast and Furious 6 at 1 pm and 9 pm. HBO will broadcast Final Destination 3 at12:52 pm and Jupiter Ascending at 9 pm. Hotel Transylvania will air at 1 pm while Samuel L. Jackson and Onni Tommila starrer Big Game will be broadcasted at 9 pm on Zee Studio.
