Singham Again vs Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3: Do toxic fan clubs steer movie success?

When the trailers for two Diwali releases Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 dropped social media went into a tizzy Every aspect of the former was critiquedmdashincluding Deepika Padukonersquos cameo and the length of the trailermdashand fan clubs were locked in rivalry over the next few weeksSpend more than five hours a day on Twitter and Instagram and yoursquoll get good at spotting social media bots While fans have locked horns before the tonality of clashes has grown more dangerous with this shift to social mediahellip and itrsquos affecting box office numbers Once fan groups focused on supporting favourite stars now they have morphed into highly competitive communities that actively engage in sabotaging each otherrsquos films especially when big releases clashldquoToxic fandomrdquo is when fan criticism turns into a hostile bigoted campaign targeting a project its stars or creative heads In todayrsquos franchisedriven entertainment landscape where studios rely heavily on fan loyalty to boost financial success the rise of toxic fandoms threatens moviegoersrsquo enthusiasmAkshaye Rathi Shrenik Gandhi and Tushar JoshildquoThe noise has become deafening latelyrdquo a marketing executive from a major studio notes ldquoPeople are out for blood and will make sure you know of their hate I personally feel Jigra didnrsquot work because of the hate towards Alia BhattrdquoJigra which released early in October faced multiple controversies Producer Divya Khosla Kumar alleged manipulation of box office numbers while Manipuri actor Bijou Thaangjam accused the producers of keeping him in the dark about the quality of his role These controversies pivoted online debates away from the emotional core of its story A studio insider who worked on the film tells us ldquoWhile Jigra had a good opening day its collections dropped sharply making it one of Aliarsquos lowestgrossing films Also if you look at the reactions they are on opposite ends of the spectrum How can a film about a sister saving her brother garner this reaction The environment around Jigra showed the impact of fan club rivalries and how it can influence BO performance Social media plays a significant role in shaping public perception particularly when it comes to highprofile films such as this onerdquoThe same tone was used against Deepika Padukone after the Singham Again trailer Many took issue with her portrayal of SP Shakti Shetty labelling her performance ldquocringerdquo and saying she was miscast Some specifically criticised her dialogue delivery and accent The backlash was further amplified by videos of influencers mimicking her scenes which went viral on platforms such as RedditA member of a fan club on Twitter told us ldquoHow the hate spiralled out of control is not something a loyal fan expected Do we feel Aliarsquos team is generating hate No Hate is an entity by itself Once you start the fire you donrsquot know what shape it will take Aliarsquos fans might have started it but it turned into something none of us could have predictedrdquoWe traced a comment on Reddit to the IG account of Disha Pundit a cinephile from Pune who stood up for Padukone ldquoI have become increasingly wary of aggressive PR for Aliardquo she says ldquoEvery few weeks hate for DP shows up and goes beyond films For example lsquoDeepika is not pregnant she is pretendingrsquomdashhow are these narratives built and propagated Itrsquos all too personal and exhausting I miss when we connected with actors organically because of their acting and personality Why are we not talking about how a movie is Why do we care so much about what who and how they are as peoplerdquoldquoToxic culture is particularly harsh toward womenrdquo observes Tushar Joshi Entertainment Head India Today ldquowith sexist comparisons and rivalries This misogynistic trend not only affects the actors but also plays into a broader troubling dynamic onlinerdquoWith the upcoming clash between Singham Again and BB3 wars have reached fever pitch Twitter Instagram TikTok and YouTube have turned into battlegrounds allowing fans to engage directly with promotional campaigns Fans of SA led by Ajay Devgn and Rohit Shetty loyalists are fiercely promoting the movie while dismissing BB3 Kartik Aaryanrsquos followers are not sitting idle ldquoYou can see patterns of haterdquo says exhibitor and trade analyst Akshaye Rathi ldquoDozens of micro influencers tweet the same thing in the same language at the same timerdquoThe tactics include manipulating algorithms to boost or damage a filmrsquos perception Coordinated down voting and leaving poor reviews on aggregator platforms such as IMDb are standard practices These are aimed at creating a narrative that a film is subpar affecting its early buzz and ticket salesOne of the most striking aspects of toxic fandoms is how wellorganised they are Members strategise attacks in closed circles on Telegram or Reddit coordinating timings to make hashtags trend flooding social media with favourable or unfavourable content and targeting specific critics or influencers to sway public opinionBut do these smear campaigns have any effectMedia promotional cycles certainly get affected says Joshi ldquoFan clubs can dictate social media trendsrdquo he tells us ldquowhich can affect a starrsquos psyche and influence decisions regarding press interactions You are playing at someonersquos insecurities and vulnerabilities An actor may choose to avoid a public engagement entirely due to a trending social media narrative or their manager may advise against addressing it as even a simple comment could impact the marketing publicity or release of their filmrdquoA celebrity publicist who handles several Alisters admits ldquoWe donrsquot allow our actors to speak to the press I need to control the narrative because even if the interviewer isnrsquot illintended what it becomes eventually is not in his or her hands In RJ Anmolrsquos interview with the Jigra team Vasan Bala had said lsquoI had sent one very kaccha pakka roughly drafted emailhellip to Karan Johar Six or seven hours later he called to say lsquoIrsquove already sent it to Aliarsquo We were not very happy about this as Karan had to defend it when the hate for Alia got wildrdquoJoshi says that actors knowingly or unknowingly sometimes fuel fan clubs by engaging with them Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan have mastered the art of handling their fan bases They encourage support one anotherrsquos films during interviews something theyrsquove been doing long before social mediarsquos rise ldquoFor example Shah Rukh might say lsquoIf my film releases on Diwali go watch Salmanrsquos film on Eidrsquordquo says Joshi ldquoThese gestures have been a hallmark of their camaraderie and contributed to their long careersrdquo In fact one way to mitigate toxicity would be for actors to publicly call out their fan clubs when their behaviour crosses a lineThe longevity of older stars could in part be credited to their refusal to let fan clubs dictate the trajectory of their careers While some fans may think they are helping their favourite star by attacking rivalsrsquo films in reality they are contributing to a culture of hostility that affects the whole industryShrenik Gandhi CEO White Rivers Media a digital agency working on film promotions breaks it down for us ldquoThere are two types of toxic fan clubs Organic and manipulated The latter is driven by agendas and is located in the echo chamber of Twitter But the first one travels authenticallyrdquo Another digital agency head corroborates ldquoLet me explain how word of mouth works The Friday a film drops WhatsApp Twitter and Instagram get activated Fake accounts of reviewers may be made Taran Adarsh has faced it The account will change Taranrsquos spelling slightly and give a one word review Disappointing Before you can combat it everyone has believed the fake account This reduces bookings considerably no matter how big the star or film isrdquoThough Rathi feels a good film can power through he feels stakeholders have to work together to fix this ldquoNo one benefits in a dogeatdog world The insecurity in our stars is scary People want to celebrate each otherrsquos failures Producers exhibitors stars studios never sit down and ask each other how we can grow the market togetherrdquoThis is not good for already sliding number ldquoThe overall turnover is not promising this yearrdquo Rathi points out ldquoLast year Jawan Pathaan and Animal doing well showed hope for a bit People were united But in 2024 we have gone back to negativity which can also be used well if therersquos intentrdquo He cites the example of how Animalrsquos polarisation became a marketing toolFan clubs can be utilised well and Shah Rukh Khan knows how As do stars in the South ldquoBe it Allu Arjun Rajinikanth or Jr NTRrdquo Rathi says ldquoThis is why they guarantee big openings which our biggest starsmdashdespite being credible actorsmdashcanrsquotrdquo