New game of box office, why do we have to give ‘Buy 1 Get 1 Free’ offer to save films? Know in detail

What is Bogo Offer: If you are a movie lover, then you must have bought the movie tickets online and you must have noticed one thing on the ticket selling website that ‘Buy 1 Get 1 Free’ i.e. BOGO offer has started appearing with many movies. This means buy one ticket and get another free. Although this offer sounds fantastic to the audience, there is a big business game of Bollywood hidden behind it.

Let us explain this game to you with an example. Recently Ananya Pandey and Lakshya starrer film Chand Mera Dil was released. Now in a few days, BOGO offer is available with this movie. According to the box office figures, this film did not get the expected response in the theatres, after which BOGO offer was started to bring the audience to the theatre. However, despite this, there was no major change in the initial earnings of the film. In such a situation, the question arose that why does Bollywood feel the need to distribute free tickets?

What is BOGO offer?

BOGO means Buy One Get One. That means on purchasing one ticket you get another ticket free. Earlier you might have seen such offers in clothes, shoes, pizza or supermarket, but now it has become a business for the film industry also.

When the advance booking of a film is weak or the number of audience is less than expected in the initial days, then makers and theater companies come up with such offers. Its objective is to bring more and more people to the theatre.

Why does Bollywood need this?

The biggest reason for this is the changing habits of the audience. However, there was a time when people would rush to the theater as soon as a new film was released. But people’s habits are not the same as before. Now the audience has many entertainment options after the arrival of OTT platforms. If there is not a lot of excitement about a film, then people consider it better to wait for a few weeks.

Not only this, this change became more rapid after Corona virus. People have developed the habit of watching content on OTT. In such a situation, bringing the audience to the theater became more difficult than before. In such a situation, the producers of the film are making every possible effort to bring the audience to the theatre. This is why film producers are trying to adopt every possible method. BOGO offer is also part of the same effort.

Perception is also sold to the audience along with the ticket.

Let us tell you that earning alone is not important for the film business. Along with this, it also has to be shown to the people that the film is playing in the theater and people are excited to watch it. Understand this thing like this, suppose half the seats in a movie show are vacant. If such photos regarding the film start going viral on social media, then discussions start about the film being a flop. On the contrary, if theaters are seen full then people feel that the film is good and should be seen in the theatre.

At the same time, BOGO offer strengthens this perception, that is, because of getting two tickets at a low price, people go to watch the movie with friends or family. This increases footfall and crowd is seen in the theatre. Due to which many times this same crowd gives positive messages to the audience about the film.

Who pays for the free ticket?

Along with this, you must be wondering that if the online ticket selling company sells free or cheap tickets then how will they benefit i.e. who pays for the free tickets? However, this matter is not so simple. Actually, there is a business model behind this entire system. In many cases, the free ticket is offset by the producer’s or film’s marketing budget. This means that the benefit received by the audience, in some way or the other, falls on the people associated with the film.

What benefits does the theater get?

Seeing this model for the first time, you might feel that theater companies would have to suffer losses due to free or discounted fares. But this does not happen. Theaters earn huge profits not only from tickets but also by selling food items. In such a situation, when a large number of people go to the theater to watch a movie, their earnings increase. That’s why the company wants the number of people to increase somehow. Let us tell you that BOGO offer is beneficial not only for film producers but also for theater owners.

Can BOGO offer make the film a hit?

With this comes before us. The biggest question. Can the film become a hit with BOGO offer? So the answer is no. Let us tell you that Bogo Ofir can help in bringing the audience to the theater but cannot make the film a hit. That means if the film is good then no one can stop it from becoming a hit. But if the content of the film is not good then its excitement can be increased for a few days but the offer may not make it a hit again. For this, it is necessary for the film to have huge ticket sales as well as its running for months.

Is this an alarm bell for Bollywood?

Many trade experts believe that the increasing BOGO offers show the challenge of the industry. Such offers are run only when the audience is not coming to the theater to watch the film. In such a situation, this is an indication that there is less hype among the people about the film. On the other hand, some experts believe that this is a normal marketing strategy. Just as e-commerce companies hold sales, the film industry also adopts new methods for some time to attract the audience.

Also read: Explainer: Are you also making the mistake of considering film and movie as the same? So know here the difference between the two