Over 6,000 influencers fuel the Pushpa 2 'wildfire'

‘Pushpa 2: The Rule’ has turned into the country’s biggest blockbuster, as per industry pundits. Packing a punch with over 25 in-film brand collaborations, the Allu Arjun and Rashmika Mandanna-starrer has crossed the Rs 1,000-crore mark at the worldwide box office within the first week of its release.

Google searches around Pushpa 2 and the lead actors started climbing up ahead of the film’s release, with significant peaks in the last week of November and the first week of December. On Instagram, the movie hit all the right notes with over 6,000 influencers adding to the buzz surrounding the film in a 15-day period around the release.

Content posted by influencers and creators on Instagram covered various facets of the excitement around the release, including the recreation of signature poses and dance steps, lip-syncing of popular dialogues, reactions to the trailer, movie reviews, clips from the theatre experience, behind-the-scene videos, short snippets from the movie, recordings from promotional tours and expressions of fandom.

The lead actor, Allu Arjun’s follower base is dominated by a young, predominantly male demographic in India. Only about 25% of his Instagram followers are female. However, when it came to Pushpa 2: The Rule, more women interacted with influencer content around the movie than men. “A surprising 60% of engagements came from a female audience, showcasing the movie's strong resonance with women,” creator collaboration platform Qoruz said.

The platform further captured that the influencer posts around Pushpa 2: The Rule generated a massive 16% engagement rate, clinching over 400 million views on Instagram. The movie’s popularity was so massive that Allu Arjun gained over 4 million followers in 30 days around the film’s release. Rashmika Mandanna too saw a rapid growth in reach, engagement and followers.

On YouTube, Pushpa 2: The Rule tapped into and aced niche content categories with a massive campaign. It included collaborations with numerous brands across industries, especially finance and business. Creators could be seen deliberating on Allu Arjun’s unprecedented rise as a pan-India Telugu star, decoding the monetary aspects of his fame. The analysis touched upon the increasing audience interest in regional cinema, further fuelling the buzz around the movie.

“The scale and audacity of the strategy sparked widespread discussion, with finance and marketing experts dissecting it under titles like ‘The Genius of Pushpa 2 Marketing’ and ‘Pushpa 2 Business Strategy Decoded’. By engaging with the finance and business niche — one of India’s top 10 content categories — Pushpa 2: The Rule garnered unprecedented buzz, turning its marketing strategy into a case study for success,” said Sameer Choudhary, Founder & Director, The Sambar People.

Trailer breakdowns, teaser analysis and discussions about the hidden details in promotional content around the movie kept the audiences engaged, adding to the hype around the movie. Brands like Thums Up, Beardo, Greenply Plywood, Mangaldeep Agarbatti, Goldmedal Electricals, Beyond Snack, Sunfeast Dark Fantasy, Itel, Free Fire MAX, JK Tyres and Kalyan Jewellers created exclusive content with clips from the movie — serving fans with interesting content to consume and dissect, entertaining them through the anticipation phase before the movie could hit 9500 screens across the country.