Avengers Endgame rakes in massive collections at Indian box office

Finale to Avengers franchise set to become all-time top grossing Hollywood film in India 
A poster of Avengers: Endgame.
A poster of Avengers: Endgame.

The epic conclusion to a massive 22-film hit series, Avengers Endgame has not just raked in record collections at the Indian box office already, it is also expected to give a boost to multiplexes across the country during what is generally a weak June quarter. 

The film has already broken several records within hours of its launch. It has clocked the third highest first-day collections in Indian Box Office history, bringing in Rs 53.1 crore across 2,800-odd screens — beaten only by Bahubali 2’s Rs 121 crore and Rajnikanth-starrer 2.0’s Rs 73.5 crore. Consequently, it has also beaten the last edition of the Avengers franchise film — Avengers: Infinity War — as the top grossing Hollywood film on day one at the Indian box office. Infinity War had clocked first day collections of Rs 31.3 crore when it released last year. Avengers Endgame also marks a paradigm shift in how the Indian film industry views releases. Not only has the film made a mark in the midst of two of the largest events in the Indian calendar — the Indian Premier League and the Lok Sabha elections — it has also achieved these milestones during a non-holiday release. 

Its success comes in the wake of two other box office hits that were released in similar circumstances. As film industry expert Taran Adarsh tweets, both Bahubali 2 and Avengers: Infinity War were also released on non-holiday weekends in April (2017 and 2018 respectively). “An eye opener for the industry that feels national holidays/festivals yield best results at the BO..,” Adarsh tweeted. 

In fact, the movie saw the highest advance bookings made in the Indian market ever, with BookMyShow recording over 2.5 million tickets by Thursday, a day before the film was released in India. 

“... The frenzy around the film is unprecedented. The cinemas are doing everything possible to match fans’ demand for the film, including round-the-clock screenings as also opening up advance bookings for the entire week ahead,” the event portal’s COO Ashish Saxena had said. 

Industry observers expect the film to go on to break more collection records, forecasting around Rs 150 crore in collections during its first weekend and around Rs 400 crore for its final tally. 

For cinema exhibitors, the film is an opportunity to make hay during a traditionally weak quarter when the IPL generally rules the roost. With the Lok Sabha elections also commanding significant mind space,

Endgame could be the biggest draw during the quarter for multiplexes like PVR and Inox Leisure. 

According to Edelweiss Securities, the movie will be a good bet for multiplexes during the quarter due to the massive following the Marvel Cinematic Universe commands, as will the upcoming X-Men franchise film Dark Phoenix. 

Endgame meanwhile has become one of the world’s largest, if not the largest, movie release ever. The film, for instance, became the fastest to make a $100 million globally, achieving the feat in just 17 hours. The previous topper — Disney’s Stars Wars: The Force Awakens — had made a hundred million globally in 21 hours. 

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