Accused of cheating and desperate to prove his innocence, an eighteen-year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai reflects back on his tumultuous life while competing to win 20 million rupees on India's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Throughout the film, life in an Indian slum is revealed and presented and the audience understands an idea of the feelings of the people who live in such poor conditions.
What Makes this Film British?
Although it is often mistaken for an Indian movie, Slumdog Millionaire is in fact a British production. Obviously, the film is not set in India, but the fact that the movie is spoken in English shows that it is aimed at a English speaking audience. The director, Danny Boyle, is obviously British and he is also well known for directing the British Olympic opening ceremony. One of the main production companies, Film 4, is also British.
Box Office Success
The budget for Slumdog Millionaire was an estimated £15,000,000 and in the opening weekend the movie brought in £1,827,457 in the UK alone
It's Appeal to the Audience
The film follows the classic rags to riches theme which many movies have tried yet failed to make a significant effect on the audience. However, being based on a real aspect of life such as the slums makes the audience feel much more aware of the real situation these people are in and how much more it would mean for them to win this amount of money. It also attracts people eager to learn about different cultures.
Reviews
Peter Bradshaw, a reviewer for the guardian said "it's got punch and narrative pizzazz: a strong, clear, instantly graspable storyline that doesn't encumber itself with character complexity, and the cinematography by Anthony Dod Mantle is tremendous. It's definitely got that quirky-underdog twinkle and the silverware glint of awards can't be far away."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/jan/09/slumdog-millionaire-review-danny-boyle
Awards and Nominations
Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1010048/awards
Oscars that were won: Best Achievement in Cinematography, Best Achievement in Directing, Best Achievement in Film Editing, Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score, Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song, Best Achievement in Sound Mixing, Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay
Oscar nominations: Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song, Best Achievement in Sound Editing
The movie was recongised for many other awards, but from the amount of oscars alone, there is a strong sense of the success of the film and production.
Distributions and Marketing
Marketing: Logistics: An online marketing was used to build awareness with the public, this included a viral, a widget and a trailer.
Target Audience: The target audience was Indian movie goers, Danny Boyle enthusiasts
Strategy:They targeted their audience by developing a PPC campaign in the major UK search engines targeting searches interested in: Pathe, Bollywood, Danny Boyle, Slumdog and Indie movies. Tug launched targeted banners across the Google content Network to build awareness of the film on a 'cost per click' model.
Thorough and detailed, including visual links with the trailer embedded. You have also commented on the strategy for targeting a UK audience. However, you could have chosen a more recent example. Keep research as current as possible. Also research from at least three sources and credit your sources.
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