The Indian film industry has never had more at stake. Revenue is at an all-time high — and the gap between films that earn and films that don't is widening. The top 36 films in 2023 took 67% of total box office. The bottom 50% of all releases earned less than 1%.
Growth is price-led, not audience-led. Average ticket prices have doubled. Footfalls have fallen. The box office is large — and increasingly competitive.
The decisions that determine which side a film lands on are made on category memory, templates, the last hit — and without audience insight and data.
The streaming slate is shrinking. Fewer titles are being made. The gap between what completes and what drops off is widening — and most decisions are still made without audience intelligence.
Most film and streaming research answers: "Did audiences like the script or series?" It rarely answers: "Does this script have the narrative engine to sustain theatrical interest — or does this series concept have the design to hold an audience through multiple episodes?" The most expensive decisions are made with the least structured intelligence.
A script or series concept goes into development without being compared to comparable genre films or streaming titles in the same category. A campaign launches without testing its positioning against what drove audiences before. The wheel is reinvented on every project.
Research is commissioned after key decisions are locked — after the script is approved, the edit locked, the series greenlit, the campaign designed. At that point, research can only validate or create anxiety.
"SDI is built to answer the right questions, at the right stage, with the right frame of reference."
Past films · Recent successes · Category memory
Genre cycles shift · Elements evolve · Attention fragments · Viewership patterns change
No system translates evolving audience behavior into forward decisions. Until SDI.
SDI predicts how audiences will respond — before decisions are locked. The model is built on what audiences actually paid for, not on survey responses.
Script, film, series, or campaign is assessed against SDI's proprietary frameworks — CLE and CDE.
Every element / driver is rated 0–10 on unique scales designed specifically for Indian audiences. Universal elements + genre-specific elements. CLE for content, CDE for campaign.
Box office potential — lifetime collection forecast (CLE) and first day forecast (CDE). For series: completion rate forecast and platform fit assessment. With decision inputs to improve the score.
"Not post-release analysis. Pre-decision intelligence."
SDI's frameworks are powered by continuous AI-driven data collection and analysis across 2,500+ films and 850+ series tracked since 2020 across 10 languages — enabling forecasts that update in real time as the market moves.
What the script / film is. Measured through CLE Rating. Drives retention — lifetime box office.
How the film travels. Measured through CDE Rating. Drives opening — first day box office.
Not a static framework. No static benchmarks. No outdated norms.
Enabled using the latest AI tools and technology.
Explore the services or get in touch to discuss how SDI can become your strategic intelligence partner.