Merchandise sales lift Hanuman to a new high

Baby Hanuman will soon be seen crooning to the trance version of Maha Bali Maharudra", after successfully launching tattoos, sharpeners, parachutes, wind chimes, puzzles, games and so on.

Hanuman, a 2-D animation flick from Percept Picture Company and Sahara One Motion Pictures in association with Silvertoons, has proved a success at both concept and merchandise acceptance.

The sale figure of Hanuman merchandise is Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million), just short of the local Rs 1.2 crore (Rs 12 million) Spiderman figure, the globally known character for its action stunts and cartoon stripes.

Mahesh Ramanathan, COO, PPC says, "It's about how you tell a story and extending it through independent options like merchandise to keep the buzz alive." The success of Hanuman is attributed not just to its concept, but to aggressive marketing and distribution.

To set the pace, PPC in association with Plastich India introduced a whole set of merchandise around the movie. The range, which started with eight items, has now been expanded to 18. Sandeep Bhargava, business head, Sahara Motion Picture says, "We want to further exploit the logo H of Hanuman as a fashion accessory for the youth."

PPC, which markets its merchandise through movie theatres and retail stores, is now planning to expand its base by targeting supermarkets, thus focusing on distribution.

This popular Hollywood studio model seems to have been accepted well in India. This explains why Hanuman, the Rs 4.5-crore (Rs 45 million) film with a marketing budget of Rs 1.5 crore (Rs 15 million), has been well received at the box office with total gross earnings close to Rs 13 crore (Rs 130 million).

Taran Adarsh, trade analyst, says, "The success of Hanuman has been very inspiring, as it has managed to change the concept of animated films from being perceived as just cartoon films in the mainstream cinema."

In India, the other player to cash in on the toy merchandise is Mattel India. Mattel has associated itself with movies like Batman Begins, Robots, and Barbie movies like Barbie and the magic of Pegasus, by launching a range of movie merchandise.

These include action figures, vehicles, playsets and so on. Nanette D'Sa, vice president, marketing, Mattel Toys India, says, "Property strength, longevity of the movie and box office success are the key drivers that define the success of toy merchandise."

This, however, according to toy store owners does not always alter the sales percentage of movie merchandise, which accounts for 5-6 per cent of the total toy sales.

Pankaj Wadhwa, managing director, Kidstuff says, "The movie property is short lived as compared to popular television programmes. Movie merchandise does not always render positive response as children tend to ask more of television merchandise."

The size of the Indian animation industry is estimated at Rs 3,000-5,000 crore (Rs 30-50 billion), and is expected to be the next big thing. The industry, which has been traditionally more of an outsourcing hub for films in the US and Canada, is expected to reach a figure of Rs 15,000 crore )Rs 150 billion) in the next 5 years.

Manu Ittina, director, Ittina Animation says, "There is tremendous need for local animated content. However, the industry does seem to be on the right path." For now, PPC plans to produce a 3-D film on Krishna and a sequel to Hanuman, scheduled for release in 2007-08.