A film trade analyst recently said that Hollywood’s back to back successes in the Indian market is a cause of concern. This is certainly not an overstatement as major Hollywood releases are not only matching the collections of their Bollywood counterparts but, in some cases, have left them drooling in the dust.
Take the example of the latest offerings like The Lion King and SpiderMan Far From Home. Both the ventures are seeing good traction in the Indian market.
While The Lion King, started its Indian journey with collections to the tune of Rs 11.06 crore, SpiderMan Far From Home also secured a double-digit opening at Rs 10 crore. This shows that Hollywood is continuing to consolidate its presence in India.
In fact, The Lion King is dominating the new Hindi releases and it is expected that the film will continue to maintain its momentum and gather close to Rs 40 crore during the weekend.
Similarly, SpiderMan Far From Home had cast its net at the Indian box office. The film became biggest opening weekend for Sony Pictures in India after garnering Rs 30.65 crore during the first three days of its release.
It also became biggest opening weekend for SpiderMan franchise in India.
The superhero venture currently has the second-biggest opening weekend for a Hollywood film in India in 2019 after Avengers Endgame. But things could change if the buzz for The Lion King continues in the next few days.
And it wouldn’t be surprising if the live-action animation film does so as the film started on a strong note despite unflattering reviews. It is the nostalgia factor that is helping the film score high.
Same was the case with Aladdin that was not critically acclaimed and did not see much traction on its home turf. But in India, the film managed to rake in twice the business of the local offerings.
While Aladdin had minted Rs 4.25 crore on its opening day, PM Narendra Modi and India’s Most Wanted had collected Rs 2.5 crore and Rs 2 crore, respectively.
In addition, this year a Hollywood venture became the biggest opener at the Indian box office. With Rs 53 crore on day one, Avengers Endgame redefined success for both Hollywood and Bollywood ventures as along with being a non-holiday release it had a limited release in 2,845 screens. Whereas, big-ticket Hindi ventures usually open at around 4,000 screens.
Cinephiles are in for a treat in the second half of the year as more Hollywood offerings are in the pipeline.
Slated for release in second half of 2019 are films like Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw, a spin-off of The Fast and the Furious franchise on August 2, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt on August 23, It Chapter 2 on September six, among others.
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