The company behind the VFX of Bahubali and RRR witnessed a listing gain of over 200 per cent; here's a complete insight into the VFX industry!

The Indian VFX industry has been gradually climbing up the ladder with the adaptation of world-class techniques and innovative technology. The content creators are upping their storytelling with marvellous VFX advancements.

The festive season has already begun and celebrations are expected to be extra special this year after a two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic. Touted as India’s biggest festival, Diwali is marked to observe the victory of good over evil and people welcome Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, who is believed to bless people with luck and prosperity.

Interestingly, the shareholders of this company have been already blessed with immense luck and prosperity as this stock moved like a rocket on its listing day. The stock of Phantom Digital Effects which was listed on October 21, 2022, on NSE SME, skyrocketed by a whopping 229 per cent and settled at Rs 312.7 as against the issue price of Rs 95 per share. The lot size was 1200 shares, so the investor who got allocated the shares in the IPO would have made a whopping Rs 2.61 lakh as against an investment of Rs 1.14 lakh.

The IPO was subscribed 164.22 times and saw a scintillating response from NII (HNI) category and Retail category. The company has planned to use the IPO proceeds towards capital expenditure to set up studios and for general corporate purposes.

Incorporated in 2016, Phantom Digital Effects Limited is a full-fledged creative VFX studio, based in India. The company's specialisations include: Completing a Shot with final compositing, Creating 3D elements, photoreal creatures, and environments, Rig/Wire removal, paint cleanup, rotoscopy, 3D matchmove, 3D animation (storyboard, animation), Pre-visualisation Game cinematics, Fire/water Fx and other natural phenomena 3D ride animation.

Phantom Digital Effects provide high-end visual effects solutions for commercials, feature films, and Web series globally. The company has delivered thousands of shots for Hollywood, independent feature films, and commercials in the past few years. Apart from working for film production and commercials, the company also takes up subcontracts from larger visual effects studios as well. They have been associated with some of the highly popular and commercially successful movies including Vikram, RRR, Bahubali 1 and 2, Beast, Avengers, Van Helsing, Transformers, Dangerous, Superman, Outlander and Minnal Murali.

Global VFX Industry Overview

The global visual effects (VFX) market attained a value of USD 26.64 billion in 2020. The market is further expected to grow in 2022-2027 at a CAGR of 11 per cent to reach almost USD 49.83 billion by 2026. The global market is being led by North America, majorly being driven by the increasing use of VFX in Hollywood movies.

Indian VFX Industry

The Indian VFX industry has been gradually climbing up the ladder with the adaptation of world-class techniques and innovative technology. The content creators are upping their storytelling with marvellous VFX advancements. Statistics by the recent FICCI EY report confirm the exponential growth of India’s M&E space with VFX and post-production facilities moving up the value chain. In 2021, the Indian VFX sector grew by 103 per cent to reach Rs 38.2 billion, while post-production grew by 49 per cent to reach Rs 14.4 billion.

India has the world’s second-largest entertainment market. According to Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) research, the Indian animation and visual effects industry have the potential to grab 20 to 25 per cent of the worldwide Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) market. With the increased demand for high-quality material in commercials, web series, movies, and OTT, directors and producers are more inclined to use cinematic effects and animation rather than live-action shots. Creators are increasingly integrating VFX and animation effects to make the illusion genuine and integrate fantasy into reality. To maintain the momentum, creators might develop or write content that is rich in fantasy and visual essence.

Phantom Digital Effects has seen revenue and asset growth over the years, with significant revenue growth in the fiscal year ending March 2022 and the first quarter of fiscal 2023.

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