Maryam Farooqui Moneycontrol News
The stage is set for the India release of one of the biggest Hollywood blockbusters. The buzz surrounding Avengers: Infinity War, slated for release on April 27, is so much that the advance booking for the film started on April 22.
In conversation with Moneycontrol, Rahul Puri, Mukta Arts, MD, said: "The advance has been brisk. There is a lot of anticipation for this film and certainly in the bigger centres, there is a good demand for the advance. A lot of people want to block their screening and this will help. At least 40 percent of the bookings for the first weekend will be done in advance," Puri said.
While the film industry is betting big on Avengers: Infinity War, business expectations from the film is around Rs 100 crore. According to Puri, the film is likely to "earn approximately Rs 15 crore on its opening day, which is an excellent number."
Cinema owners and exhibitors are witnessing a steady flow of early booking requests. According to Bollywood news portal Koimoi, Avengers: Infinity War has opened to an excellent response in Mumbai and tickets for IMAX and 4DX versions of the film are almost sold out in the city. Same is the scenario in Delhi where both 3D and IMAX versions are either sold out or filling up fast.
Viewers are looking forward to watch the 3D and IMAX versions of the film for a better cinema viewing experience. Avengers: Infinity War brings together many of the heroes and villains introduced across all 18 Marvel movies so far, and pits them against the legions of the cosmic conqueror Thanos. The film is the first mainstream movie shot entirely on IMAX cameras. The filmmakers have used Alexa IMAX 65mm cameras for the entirety of Infinity War.
The film, which will open in as many as 2,000 screens in India, is the only big-ticket film releasing during the May Day weekend. Rajinikanth’s Kaala, which was scheduled for an April release, has been moved to June 7.
The May Day weekend is a lucrative period and the proof of this is the revenue collection of Baahubali 2: The Conclusion which too had released on April 27 in 2017.
"It (May Day weekend) will help the film's collections as with the 1st May Holiday, this will be an extended weekend. People will certainly use the holiday to come out and watch the film, maybe watch it again," added Puri.
After Black Panther’s unprecedented success, there is no doubt that the popularity of films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been on the rise.
Previous films from the Avengers franchise too have raked in big bucks in India. While the first Avengers film, released in 2012 collected over Rs 70 crore, 2015’s Avengers: Age Of Ultron surpassed it, recording collection of approximately Rs 77 crore in India.
Global performance
Although Avengers: Infinity War is likely to surpass its predecessor Star Wars: The Force Awakens to become the highest opening film in US, the film may not do well in other markets like China and Russia.
The film will see a late release in these two markets. While Avengers: Infinity War will open in Russia on May 3, in China the film will hit the theatres two weeks after its global release on May 11. In addition, recent Hollywood films in China have not seen much traction in the recent past.
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