Housefull 5 is set to release in about two weeks, and yet the makers haven’t released a trailer or promoted the film in any significant way apart from a song and teaser drop.
This trend of late promotion was also seen with Salman Khan’s Sikandar, where the makers held back promotional material until the very last moment. The result could be seen by everyone.
This has raised bigger questions among fans about the declining quality of film promotions in Bollywood.
Fans believe it’s either because these films are so confident they’ll succeed without early promotions, or the makers know the films aren’t strong enough to justify heavy marketing. In other cases, producers may have spent so much on making the film and casting big stars that they’re left with little budget for promotion.
Once upon a time, film promotion was considered an art. Film stars would appear in crossover episodes on cable television, and creative hoardings were designed to build anticipation.
Actors even participated in on-ground meet-and-greets, connecting with fans and encouraging them to visit theatres.
Post-COVID, these promotional methods have become rare and have been reduced to mere social media posts and the routine release of teasers, trailers, and songs.
There has been a significant decline in the effort put into film promotions.
This sends the wrong message to the audience — if the makers themselves don’t seem excited about their film, why should fans be?
Many fans even believe that promotions have been reduced to PR strategies, whether good PR or bad, simply to get people talking, rather than actually putting in meaningful marketing efforts.
Making a film is one important aspect; marketing it is another. Both require equal commitment.
The producers of Housefull 5 may need to worry about the audience they’ve already lost by not promoting the film enough. Otherwise, the performance of the film, with these late promotions, will be interesting to watch.
