WILL AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH WORK DESPITE OPPOSITION FROM DHURANDHAR?

The biggest Hollywood film of the year, Avatar: Fire And Ash, is all set to release in cinemas tomorrow, December 19, and the excitement for it is tremendous. The earlier parts have been huge hits, with Avatar: The Way Of Water being the biggest Hollywood grosser of all time, collecting more than Rs. 375 crores. However, the third part has faced some issues.

Avatar: The Way Of Water had an advantage as it came 13 years after Avatar (2009). Hence, there was a huge demand to experience the world of Pandora on the big screen. Avatar: Fire And Ash, meanwhile, comes three years after the sequel, and that novelty value has diluted a bit. Moreover, the reviews from the Western press have been mixed. Consequently, the advance is not as huge as that of Avatar: The Way Of Water.

Nevertheless, if seen in isolation, Avatar: Fire And Ash’s advances will probably be the best of the year, if all goes well. It's all set for the biggest Hollywood opening of the year. Avatar: Fire And Ash is expected to open at around Rs. 28 crores, but as we have seen with biggies, spot bookings come into play big time. Hence, Avatar: Fire And Ash should collect more than Rs. 30 crores. It’ll be less than the Rs. 39.87 crores day 1 opening of Avatar: The Way Of Water.

The aim of Avatar: Fire And Ash is to grow well over the weekend and then maintain the momentum over the next two weeks. Two factors will come to its advantage – the festive season commences from this weekend and secondly, Avatar is a series that one has to experience in cinemas. It's not a film that one can skip in cinemas, thinking that it can be consumed later on OTT.

However, a major roadblock that the film will face is the Dhurandhar wave. It started on a slow note, but in the second weekend, it has overperformed, shocking the trade and industry. In week 1, it collected a huge Rs. 196.44 crores. But in week 2, it’ll collect nearly Rs. 240 crores. Hence, Dhurandhar is the first film to collect more than Rs. 200 crores in its second week. It’ll collect nearly Rs. 435-440 crores by the end of its second week. It’ll beat Rs. 500 crores by Saturday or Sunday and will soon beat Stree 2’s collections of Rs. 575 crores and emerge as the biggest Bollywood grosser of all time.