MUMBAI: Authentic box office collections are hard to come by as far as the Indian motion picture industry is concerned. Unlike the US, where authentic box office collections are professionally tracked and made available, India has been so far banking on individual producers and distributors for the numbers.

However, that is now set to change as Rentrak Theatrical has started collecting real time box office sales data from theatre locations in India and Hong Kong.

In India, Rentrak Theatrical is working with movie and entertainment ticketing company Big Tree Entertainment, in which TV18 Group’s internet arm Web18 has a majority stake. Whereas in Hong Kong, the company is working with Hong Kong Theatre Association to provide field support as well as cultural and local business advisory services.

Both India and Hong Kong are regarded as growing and important markets and serve as gateways to other major Asian markets in the future.

For the first time, industry executives will be able to access real time data from these markets, including both studio and Hindi movie releases in India. Rentrak’s studio clients will have near real time access to much needed instant feedback that is paramount in today’s fast changing world. 

“India and Hong Kong are both extremely exciting growth markets for the motion picture industry, especially India which has the highest per capita movie-going audience in the world and releases nearly 1,000 movies per year. I’m very pleased at this exciting stage of the company’s expansion plans to be working with Rentrak Theatrical, the leader in real time box office data services, that allows our clients access to real time box office data in these and future international markets,” said the Rentrak Theatrical’s new senior vice president, international Steve Perrin.