From reels to reality: How viral marketing is shaping a film’s fate

Gone are the days when the box office relied solely on star charisma. In today’s attention economy, a film’s journey to success begins long before its release — on Instagram, YouTube, and X. The marketing playbook for filmmakers now includes choreographed fan reactions, viral stunts, and emotional moments that ignite social media. While content remains king, performance-driven promotion has emerged as its indispensable ally.

Take Saiyaara, for instance — a film that struck deep emotional chords with Gen Z audiences. Videos of people carrying saline bottles, pretending to have left hospitals just to catch the film, flooded timelines. Whether exaggerated or not, the sheer virality of such content ensured that Saiyaara stayed in the spotlight for weeks. Similarly, War 2 may not have matched the mass hysteria of its predecessor, yet audiences grooved to its songs inside theatres, clips of which quickly dominated short-form platforms. Then there was Kantara, whose influence extended beyond cinema halls, inspiring audiences to dress up as the Daiva, emulating the traditional ritual of Bhoota Kola depicted in the film.

These moments prompt an inevitable question — are such stunts and reactions part of a calculated marketing strategy, or are they simply organic outbursts from passionate audiences?

Yusuf Shaikh, Founder and CEO of Janta Cinema, believes the answer lies somewhere in between. “Everybody is trying to appease their target audience. There’s such clutter in the media world that anything normal gets lost. You need something that catches attention,” he explained. According to him, even if some gimmicks are planted, they often stem from audience behaviour itself. “Seeding always comes from the audience. There’s give and take — at times it looks organic but isn’t. An idea has to stick, and then it affects the film’s performance,” he said. He recalls examples like Jolly LLB, whose trailer was launched in Meerut and Kanpur — a promotional gimmick that struck the right chord with its small-town audience.

Shrenik Gandhi, CEO and Co-founder of White Rivers Media, shares a balanced view. “I believe there needs to be a good mix of seeded and organic content. Some movies do it, and it works, but not for all. No one can beat genuine chatter. Word of mouth remains the strongest tool,” he said. Gandhi notes that while a well-crafted marketing campaign can pull audiences till Sunday, it’s the film’s content that decides its run thereafter. “If these gimmicks are planted often, people see through it,” he cautioned.

Film trade analyst and critic Fenil Seta added that while such videos can keep a movie trending, virality alone cannot guarantee success. “It can be a marketing strategy, but it’s difficult to tell what’s genuine and what’s seeded. In Saiyaara’s case, most videos seemed organic, posted by influencers hoping to ride the trend,” he observed. “A film can stay in public memory through such buzz, but it will only work if trailers and songs connect and word of mouth is strong. Many have tried faking viral reactions — yet the films flopped because audiences weren’t interested.”

The underlying truth is that social media virality has become a critical layer of film marketing, blending strategy with spontaneity. Gimmicks and emotional overreactions, whether organic or engineered, help keep a film relevant in the fragmented attention span of the digital age. But as experts agree, no amount of virality can save a film that lacks soul — audiences might double-tap, share, or comment, but ultimately, they pay for good content.

In a world where every frame competes for attention, virality may spark the conversation, but only strong storytelling sustains it. Bollywood’s new formula may rely on digital buzz, but the audience, as always, remains the ultimate kingmaker.