Explaining Box-Office Terms 'Corporate Booking' And 'Organic Collection'
Wondering what is the meaning of popular box-office terms like ‘corporate booking’ and ‘organic collection’? Then, this is a must-read piece for you.
Gone are the days when a film was remembered for its critical acclaim and the impact it left on the audience's minds. With each passing day, fans just want to know about the box office collection of a movie. Hence, it is no surprise that even we as media constantly monitor the box office collection and the advance booking numbers of every movie release. In 2023, the Hindi film industry witnessed unprecedented box office collections for films like 'Pathaan', 'Gadar 2', 'Jawan', and 'Animal'. All these movies did a business of more than Rs 500 crore in India. Shah Rukh Khan's 'Jawan' became the highest-grossing Hindi film of all time, after recording a collection of more than Rs 580 crore in just the Hindi language.
Sunny Deol's 'Gadar 2', Ranbir Kapoor's 'Animal', and Shah Rukh Khan's 'Pathaan' also proved to be gigantic success stories for the producers. However, of late, we have noticed a trend on social media, where fans continue to question the inflated box office numbers, citing corporate booking or BOGO (Buy One Get One) offers.
Films like 'Pathaan', 'Jawan', 'Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani', 'Dunki', 'Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar', 'Fighter', and 'Crew' continue to be questioned for their box office numbers, and a certain section of fans and trade analysts believe that these projects used corporate booking to inflate their box office numbers.
The charge of corporate booking, and "inorganic" collection is levied against Shah Rukh Khan the most. Fans of Salman Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, and Aamir Khan continue to bring down SRK on social media. Even actors like Ameesha Patel and Sunny Deol have talked about corporate booking in the past, saying that their movie became an "organic" blockbuster.
On Karan Johar's chat show 'Koffee With Karan 8', the acclaimed filmmaker mentioned how Sunny Deol has repeatedly talked about ‘Gadar 2’ collections being "organic". “What does that really mean? Are we inflating box office numbers?” asked Karan Johar.
Sunny Deol then laughed it off, saying it was actually a trend to inflate box office collections. Karan Johar then asked him again, “Is that why the tagline on Gadar 2 was ‘Hindustan ka asli blockbuster’?”
Recently, during an AMA session on X (formerly Twitter), Ameesha Patel had seemingly taken a dig at the box office collection of 'Jawan' and 'Pathaan'. Replying to a user, Ameesha stated, "Mantra for energy… healthy eating… motivation and clean thoughts. Well, you guys all saw me recently in Bollywood’s biggest ORGANIC hit of all time in Gadar 2."
Are you someone who continues to wonder what exactly the terms "corporate booking" and "organic collection" are? Then, we have you figured. In this article, we will be talking about what is corporate booking and organic collection. We sincerely hope that this article works as an eye-opener for film buffs, and it helps them develop a better understanding of how the box office operates.
Corporate booking is not a black-and-white matter, as there is a lot of grey area. It is not completely a bad thing nor does it create an ideal scenario.
So without further ado, here is a full explainer:
Let's do away with the organic collection, first. This term just means that the box office numbers are just a reflection of the audience's interest in the film. The box office numbers are directly proportional to the audience's reception at the ticket counters. The ticket sales are not affected by any outside forces, and it is just the reception at the ticket counters, that makes a movie, a hit or a flop.
However, it is important to mention that every producer and actor will say that their movie's collections are organic, as no one would accept increasing their box office collection by outside forces or external factors. However, there is no way for a normal fan to make out whether the film's collections are organic or not.
Now, that we have done away with organic collection. Let's come back to the real beast, that is corporate booking. What exactly is corporate booking?
This term, prevalent in the film industry today, refers to the practice where corporations or large organisations purchase movie tickets in bulk for various reasons. These reasons might vary from corporate events, employee incentives, and client entertainment, to promotional activities.
It is important to mention that this practice can significantly impact box office collections, especially for high-profile releases, providing a substantial boost to opening weekend numbers and overall revenue. Now that, we have loosely explained the broader meaning of the term, let us delve into how corporate booking operates, its impact on the box office, and the motivations behind such purchases.
As we already established, corporate booking usually involves companies buying a large number of tickets, often entire screenings, in advance of a film's release. These transactions usually take place through special arrangements with movie theaters or through corporate sales departments within the theater chains.
As far as our understanding goes, this is how the entire corporate booking functions. At first, certain individuals involved with a big film negotiate with corporations to secure a bulk purchase for their film. This principle works based on a barter system as it often includes discounts or special perks for the corporation. When the terms are agreed upon, the corporation purchases the tickets, sometimes weeks or months before the film's release. This bulk purchase is then counted and added to the film's box office receipts.
It is then up to the corporation to distribute these tickets to employees, clients, or partners. Even if the corporation does not distribute tickets to anyone, the box office collection will show a big number as the corporation has already paid the amount for the tickets. For example, if we at B4U, book an 11 AM show for a particular movie, then it will reflect on the box office collection. It does not matter whether any audience walked into the auditorium or not.
The practice of corporate booking carries several implications for different stakeholders in the film industry: Corporate bookings can secure financial stability and ensure wider initial viewership, which can be crucial for the success of any kind of film. These bookings also provide a reliable revenue stream and they can help in crafting more attractive distribution deals by showcasing strong early performance.
While corporate bookings can enhance a film’s public image, it is important to state that they may also lead to skewed box office data.
Now, you will be wondering how can corporate booking significantly influence a movie's box office performance. Not to worry, we have you covered.
It is important to state that the effects of corporate booking are reflected in the opening weekend collection of a movie. The opening weekend is critical for a film’s success, as it sets the tone for future audience turnout and word-of-mouth promotion. Corporate bookings can artificially inflate these numbers, giving the appearance of a strong opening.
For film distributors and theater chains, corporate bookings provide guaranteed revenue regardless of public reception. This can be particularly beneficial for films with uncertain box office potential. A strong box office performance, bolstered by corporate bookings, can influence subsequent distribution deals, such as international release and digital rights.
Now, you will be thinking that corporate booking just helps the people involved in the filmmaking process, but how are organisations benefitting from paying the money for movies? Let us try and explain. We all work at offices, and we can safely say that we will obviously feel happy if our employer treats us to a film-watching experience right?
So that's about it. Big companies and organisations can use movie tickets as rewards for employees, fostering goodwill and motivation. Movie outings can be part of team-building activities or employee appreciation events. Then the organisations can host their clients at exclusive movie screenings.
Corporations may then align themselves with particular movies to enhance their brand image, especially if the film’s theme or star cast aligns with their brand values. Over the past two years, corporate booking has been talked about a lot on social media, and there is merit to criticism of this practice.
Film critics and journalists continue to argue that corporate bookings can artificially inflate box office numbers, misleading the public and investors about a film’s true popularity. Bulk ticket purchases can also limit availability for general audiences, particularly during peak times or for highly anticipated releases, potentially leading to frustration among the cinephiles.
Corporate preferences continue to skew towards the mainstream, high-profile films, and it is indeed marginalising independent films as they struggle to attract corporate interest.
In the end, we just want to say that corporate booking in the box office collection is a multifaceted beast with significant implications for the film industry. While it provides guaranteed revenue, it also raises concerns about artificial inflation of box office numbers and accessibility for general audiences.
However, we want to make it clear that there is no way, a normal audience member can say with certainty whether a film has recorded an organic collection or there is some corporate booking involved. If you come across social media posts, that state the terms organic collection and corporate booking, take it with a pinch of salt. These terms have just become an excuse for fans to put their favourite star on a pedestal, and bring down other actors and actresses.
