SEAToday.com, Jakarta-Eid holiday is considered to be the best time to release movies. Indonesian filmmakers see it as a good strategy to market their movies. Such strategy was carried out by Riri Reza with "Laskar Pelangi" (2008) and Awi Suryadi with "KKN di Desa Penari" (2022).

The movies were successful, garnering millions of viewers. However, the strategy of releasing movies during Eid holiday is nothing new. It has been around since the 1980s. So, who was the pioneer?

Warkop DKI Phenomenon

The comedy movie market never goes out of style, proven by the presence of comedy group Warkop Prambors in the 1970s which consists of Dono, Kasino, Indro, Nanu, and Rudi Badil.

They managed to make Prambors' listeners laugh through their program "Obrolan Santai di Warung Kopi". Warkop Prambors continued becoming more and more popular with their signature humor, and it's all thanks to each member's ability to wrap criticism on the New Order with smart humor.

Warkop Prambors represented the public's concern over unfitting policies. Everyday, fans wait for Warkop Prambors on the radio.

The comedians started getting offers to perform offline and even star in movies. Who would have thought that what they did for fun could bring them longevity in the entertainment world? Warkop Prambors' first movie without Rudi Badil was "Mana Tahan" (1979), and the movie succeeded tremendously.

Indonesian famous filmmaker Garin Nugroho saw that success as Warkop DKI's bridge toward glory. The movie was popular among the fans. That formula became important for Warkop Prambors in dominating the comedy movie scene in Indonesia.

"One of the most legendary comedy groups Warkop Prambors, which then renamed themselves to Warkop DKI, dominates the slapstick movie industry. Their first movie was Mana Tahan (1979) and saw Dono, Kasino, Indro, and Nanu acting on the big screen. That movie immediately became one of the most successful movies of the year. Then, in Gengsi Dong (1980), only three were left, and then they renamed to Warkop DKI," said Garin Nugroho and Dyna Herlina S. in the book "Krisis dan Paradoks Film Indonesia" (2015).

Nanu's absence didn't become a problem. Even when they renamed to Warkop Dono, Kasino, Indro (DKI), the three shone, bright as ever.

Warkop DKI's next movies became box office hits. There were times Warkop DKI movies beat the viewers of movies that won the Festival Film Indonesia (FFI). Take for example when "Maju Kena Mundur Kena" (1983) started playing nationwide.

That movie reached a fantastic feat at that time: 700 thousand viewers. For comparison, the movie "Di Balik Kelambu" (1983) which won six Piala Citra only got 250 thousand viewers.

"Warkop movies often become box office, meaning they're watched by over 100 thousand people. For example, Chips (1982) garnered 500 thousand viewers, while the best-selling movie of 1981 Pintar-Pintar Bodoh reached 475 thousand viewers. No wonder that Dono, Kasino, and Indro became popular among producers. They already have contracts for a number of movies until 1984," a Tempo report titled "Menggelitik Duit Penonton" wrote, August 13, 1983.

View-Reaping Strategy: Release Movie During Eid Holiday

Dono, Kasino, and Indro had their own way of popularizing their movies. First, limiting public appearance. Second, suggesting the movie to be released during Eid holiday.

The "limiting public appearance" strategy created some sort of longing from the public, and releasing their movie during Eid holiday was their final step to encourage the public to see them in the theaters.

"Indro thinks that the movie's marketing is not necessarily Warkop's responsibility, but, seeing the conditions, the group suggested the marketing to be carried out during Eid holidays and set that as a pattern. Apparently, this strategy works. Years later and tens of Warkop films have never failed," said Eddy Suhardi in the book "Warkop: Main-Main Jadi Bukan Main" (2010).

The strategy was taken after Warkop DKI saw how popular "Pintar-Pintar Bodoh" (1981) was, and it was released during the Eid holiday. The release during Eid is similar to movie release strategies overseas, which sees film being released during summer or fall due to the holidays.

The release during Eid brought tremendous success. Every Warkop DKI movie shone bright. Even before the theaters opened, people lined up to see their favorite comedians.

On the other hand, if Warkop DKI movies don't get released during Eid, cinema entrepreneurs will take the blow as their income will decrease. Such thing happened in 1996, when Warkop DKI didn't release any movies.

Cinema entrepreneurs suffered from losses. They believed a great portion of their income during Eid was from Warkop DKI movies. In 1996, cinema entrepreneurs didn't consider any national movies to come close to what Warkop DKI achieved in the previous years.

"The absence of Warkop DKI-like comedy, starring Dono, Kasino, and Indro on the Eid of 1996, grew concerns among cinema entrepreneurs," was written in the book "Kronik Sinema 1996" (1997).

That condition lasted for a long time. Television stations started buying the broadcasting rights to previous Warkop DKI movies. Since then, Warkop DKI greeted fans on television as well.

No wonder that people associate Warkop DKI movies with opor ayam. Oops, we meant Eid al-Fitr.