It was party time at Tantra, but last Saturday night was different. The theme was Spider-Man 2, in association with The Telegraph, to promote the upcoming film — part of the publicity strategy. Although this one was for the grown-ups, the biggest target group is the pre-teens. It’s no secret that they are attracting the big bucks, and with kiddie films flooding the market and multiplexes giving them the on-screen time, everyone wants a piece of the promotions pie.

In the past year, there has been a plethora of family films — Finding Nemo, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Jungle Book 2 and Brother Bear, to name a few. On the way are Spider-Man 2, Garfield and Shrek 2. With each movie, there are gimmicks galore for the youngsters, from spot contests to film festivals.

It began a few years ago, with Priya cinema starting the Sunday noon show for children, with goodies thrown in. “It went on for about six or seven months, till we ran out of films,” recalls Arijit Dutta, owner of Priya. “We held another festival a few months ago.”

The reason for the popularity of English films for kids, explains Vikramjit Roy of Columbia Tristar, is because unlike the Indian film industry, Hollywood has always had a kids category, pioneered by Walt Disney. “It’s pester power. So, although parents make the choice, there is a standalone section for children.”

Stuart Little 1 and 2, Lion King, A Bug’s Life, Monsters Inc., Toy Story 1 and 2, Shrek… The list is long, and as the concept catches on, so begins the race to reel them in. Everyone’s happy to pile on as the pie grows bigger. Case in point: INOX, at Forum. The Elgin Road multiplex has events for children for every family film released, from Daddy Day Care to Harry Potter…. For the release of Finding Nemo, the Diwali weekend turned into a carnival, with live characters from the movie, a tattoo artist and competitions. Toy stores had Nemo soft toys, just as Spiderman is now on shop shelves.

“We spend about Rs 20 to Rs 30 lakh nationwide on promotions. For Spider-Man 2, however, it’s Rs 1 crore. But cooperative marketing — partners for the promo campaign — means about Rs 4 crore for this film. Calcutta is a relatively small percentage, with about Rs 3 lakh spent on a regular film, but it’s increasing,” observes Roy.

In the past, Columbia Tristar has tied-up with Oxford Bookstore among others, while this time, Kellogs and Airtel have also joined in.

At INOX, the publicity costs Rs 80,000 to Rs 1 lakh. “Kids notice trailers and ads and tell the adults what to watch,” says Ravi Raman, general manager, INOX Forum. “Promotions create awareness and generate curiosity.” At the moment, a children’s film festival is on at INOX City Centre, in a run-up to the July 23 release of Spider-Man 2, and block bookings from schools have been pouring in. 89 Cinemas has a real-life Spiderman climbing the walls of the hall.

Columbia Tristar has interactions in schools with teachers and parents, for “value associations” — the father-son relationship in Finding Nemo, and good-versus-evil in Spider-Man 2. “It’s a subliminal way of getting into a child’s mind,” adds Roy.

But while Roy feels that everyone’s a winner in the promotions game, Dutta, also chairman of the Eastern India Motion Picture Association, feels that the Indian audience has not matured enough for animation films. “So, it is still very niche-based.”