Hollywood business in India remained stagnant in 2017. Will Rampage, Avengers: Infinity War turn the tide in 2018?

Avengers: Infinity War: India collection- Rs 200.25. Picture: Reuters

The box office collections of Hollywood (inclusive of all the Indian language dubbed versions) in India remained stagnant in 2017 , totaling Rs 801 crore, as against Rs 795 crore in 2016, according to an EY report.

Last year’s Hollywood contribution in India, Rs 801 crore, comprises around 13 per cent of the total theatrical box office. After three consecutive years of healthy growth since 2013, Hollywood footfalls in India remained stagnant at 7.5 crore in 2017, marginally down from 7.8 crore in 2016.

But will 2018 see a turnaround in terms of Hollywood box office collection in India with films like Black Panther, Rampage, A Quiet Place and the most awaited Avengers: Infinity War releasing in the country?

The latest Hollywood offering, Rampage, starring Dwayne Johnson that released on April 13 had a fair start in India with collections going up to Rs 2.75 crore, and in four days of its release, the film has earned Rs 13.85 crore.

According to a Koimoi report, a Bollywood news portal, Rampage performed well in south India, followed by Mumbai and Delhi.

Apart from English, the film has released in Hindi (dubbed version). Reports from mass centres like Nagpur, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh suggest that the film is working for the masses and the footfalls for Hindi dubbed version, which were quite low on the opening day, are likely to scale up.

Johnson's last film Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle had amassed Rs 4.11 crore on its opening day but the film had released on more than 700 screens in India. However, Rampage saw a limited release in India and didn’t have the additional source of revenue that Hollywood films usually generate in India via 3D release.

Another Hollywood release this year was Marvel Cinematic Universe’s offering, Black Panther, that grossed more than Rs 50 crore in India alone, having grossed Rs 13.75 crore in the opening weekend itself. Black Panther had hit the theatres on February 16 this year.

The movie is among a group of films that lead up to Avengers: Infinity War, which is scheduled to release on April 27. Black Panther fans will again get to see their favourite character in Infinity War.

Last year too, there were a host of superhero films. Be it Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, Thor, Hulk or Justice League, stories about superheroes battling supervillains in a fantasy world turned out to be the hit formula for Hollywood at the Indian box office in 2017.

Yet, Hollywood’s contribution to the Indian box office could not see a significant growth last year.

There is no denying that these titles have changed the game with highly anticipated franchise films and sci-fi/ action spectacles offering stiff competition to Indian releases, especially in the Bollywood demographic, often doing better than Indian films which released alongside. But can these Hollywood titles up the entertainment quotient so much so that Hollywood achieves a bigger share in India’s theatrical box office collections in 2018? We'll have to wait and watch.