Golden Globe award nominations in film and TV were announced on Tuesday. The winners will be presented with their awards on January 16.
The award’s top contenders may be introducing their cast and creators as future veterans but how popular are these films and TV shows outside the US? The Express Tribune conducted a survey to explore the most popular films and US TV shows in Pakistan.
While most of the nominated films are yet to hit the Pakistani market, The Social Network and Inception remain the most popular at Radio City, Karachi. Current sales are mostly driven by films which are nowhere to be seen among the Golden Globe’s shortlisted candidates. Night and Day, Predators, Mirrors 2, Wall Street, Harry Potter 7, Unstoppable and Shrek 4 are the top picks at the store.
According to the video stores in Lahore, The Social Network, Black Swan and Inception are likely to do well at Golden Globe awards. “People have been asking about Black Swan since its trailer was released a few months back,” said an official of a DVD shop in Gulberg, Lahore.
Raheel Ali of Laraib Music, Karachi, has reasons as to why top contender The Social Network is doing well in Pakistan, “It’s because the film is about Facebook which is really ‘in’ amongst Pakistanis.” Other top selling films at Laraib include Inception, Casino Jack, Rabbit Hole, Wall Street 2 and Saw 3D.
The availability of a film in local markets plays a big role in its growing demand. “We don’t have all kinds of films and some of the films reach here after a few weeks of their release in America,” said an official of Radio City, Lahore.
When it comes to the TV series, a random poll suggests that the Pakistani youth cares less about Golden Globes nominations. While “Grey’s Anatomy” took the top slot, “Desperate Housewives” and “How I Met Your Mother” landed at No. 2 and No. 3, followed by “Gossip Girl” and recently nominated “The Good Wife”, “Big Bang Theory”, “Glee” and “Modern Family”.
Matching the poll’s results, the DVD sales of “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Desperate Housewives” outrank Golden Globe nominees ‘Boardwalk Empire’”, says Ali.
Jabbar Ahmad Khan, central president of Cable Operators Association Pakistan, said that some of these shows like “Dexter” and “The Good Wife” were in demand but it was very difficult to say which of these dramas have been most popular. “A limited class watches these shows and it is very difficult to get an authentic record about the popularity of these particular plays,” he maintained.
A cable operator in Lahore’s Defense Housing Authority, however, says that “Dexter” is popular amongst boys. “It’s difficult to say how many people watch it but all I can tell is that when the channel which shows ‘Dexter’ goes off air for technical reasons, I get numerous calls from the clients asking me to fix the problem,” he said.
How many nominations did they get?
| Films The King’s Speech - 7 The Social Network - 6 The Fighter - 6 Inception - 4 Black Swan - 4 The Tourist - 3 127 Hours - 3 Burlesque - 2 Blue Valentine - 2 | TV shows “Glee” - 5 “Dexter” - 3 “The Good Wife” - 3 “Mad Men” - 3 “30 Rock” - 3 “Big Bang Theory” - 3 “Modern Family” - 3 “Boardwalk Empire” - 3 “The Big C” - 2 “Nurse Jackie” – 2 |
Published in The Express Tribune, December 16th, 2010.
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