WILL SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY CROSS THE RS. 500 CRORE MARK?

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is on a dream run at present and its weekend performance was beyond anyone’s expectations. The industry was hoping it could break the long-standing record of Avengers: Endgame. That film opened at Rs. 53.50 crores and was the highest opener for Hollywood in India. Meanwhile, Spider-Man: Brand New Day went way ahead and collected a huge Rs. 60 crores on Thursday, July 30, the day of release.

On the second day, Friday, the film had a normal drop and yet collected Rs. 48 crores. The collections jumped to Rs. 68 crores on Saturday. Usually, Hollywood films drop on Sunday or remain at the same level as Saturday. But Spider-Man: Brand New Day earned Rs. 76 crores, shocking the trade and industry.

On Monday, Spider-Man: Brand New Day dropped more than 50%, earning Rs. 23 crores. But this was fine as it was coming off a historic weekend. After collecting Rs. 21 crores on Tuesday, the superhero film had another drop on Wednesday when it collected Rs. 15 crores. This drop is slightly alarming.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day has earned Rs. 311 crores until Wednesday and its first week collections would be around Rs. 323-324 crores. Looking at the weekend performance, it was expected that the film had a chance of crossing the Rs. 500 crore mark. But now, with the drop, that seems unlikely. However, all hope is not lost. If it sees another dramatic jump in the second week and then holds during the weekdays, it can still have a chance of entering the coveted Rs. 500 crore club.

Nevertheless, the job is done. In the second week, it’ll cross the approx. Rs. 380 crore figure of Avatar: The Way Of Water and emerge as the highest Hollywood-grossing film of all time in India.

WILL SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY BREAK AVENGERS: ENDGAME’S LONG-STANDING DAY 1 RECORD?

Tomorrow, July 30, will see the release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and the excitement surrounding it is historic, to say the least. It has been a long time since a Hollywood film generated such widespread craze in India. The recently-released The Odyssey also witnessed a tremendous rush, but its demand was largely concentrated in urban centres. Spider-Man: Brand New Day, meanwhile, is attracting phenomenal interest across North, South, East and West India, and in urban centres and mass pockets alike.

The advance booking opened way back on June 17. In just 24 hours, 45,000 tickets for the film were sold, which proved that there was a huge demand to see the superhero flick. The expectation was that the film would open at around Rs. 40-45 crores. However, the demand kept on increasing as the release date neared. As a result, the film can now have an astonishing opening of more than Rs. 50 crores.

The trade and industry are now excited to see if it can beat the long-standing record of Avengers: Endgame. That film opened at Rs. 53.50 crores and since more than 7 years, it holds the record of the highest Hollywood opener of India. The craze for Avengers: Endgame was unbelievable and seems like Spider-Man: Brand New Day is also in the same boat.

It was said that there’s superhero fatigue, and it is indeed true. At the same time, Spider-Man stands out. He’s the most popular superhero in India, as every film of the series with different actors have worked big time. The films of Spider-Man are easy to understand and the character itself is youthful and entertaining, which is why he has an insane following.

The last Spider-Man film, Spider-Man: No Way Home, opened at Rs. 32.75 crores in lockdown time when cinemas operated at 50% occupancy. Hence, now that the situation is normal, it was a given that Spider-Man: Brand New Day would open with a bang. That it would challenge the numbers of Avengers: Endgame was not expected.

At present, Spider-Man: No Way Home is the third-biggest Hollywood opener in India, while the second spot is occupied by Avatar: The Way Of Water, which opened at Rs. 40 crores. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is certain to surpass this figure. The fourth and fifth positions are occupied by Avengers: Infinity War, which opened at Rs. 31.25 crores, and Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness, which collected Rs. 28.75 crores on its opening day, respectively. In short, four of the five films on the list belong to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Considering the craze for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, one can only imagine the kind of opening that Avengers: Doomsday, scheduled for release on December 18, could register. The MCU appears to be back in form, at least for now. If the studio plays its cards well, the subsequent films could also benefit from this renewed momentum and avoid the struggle to attract audiences that the franchise experienced over the last few years.

The top 5 biggest openers of Hollywood films in India
1. Avengers: Endgame - 53,50,00,000
2. Avatar: The Way Of Water - 40,00,00,000
3. Spider-Man: No Way Home - 32,75,00,000
4. Avengers: Infinity War - 31,25,00,000
5. Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness - 28,75,00,000

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.

Moviegoers were in for a treat when theatres celebrated Cinema Lover’s Day on January 20 and offered tickets at Rs. 99. In Mumbai, many shows performed better than on regular days this month, while a couple of shows were housefull. However, as per cine experts, the day didn’t get as good a response as National Cinema Day, when 6 am shows were added to meet the demand.

While attendance at movie theatres didn’t peak, most moviegoers were in theatres to rewatch some recent films. Rakesh Mehta, a businessman, says, “I took four of my family members for Drishyam 2 because the tickets were affordable. We really wanted to watch this film, but on a regular day, ticket prices are very high.”

Priya Salian, a college student, saw Avatar: The Way Of Water with her friends on Cinema Lovers Day. She says, “We had seen the movie and wanted to watch it again. When I got to know that the ticket prices would be Rs 99 on Friday, we jumped at the opportunity. However, I think that not many people knew about the discount on ticket prices, it should have been publicized more.”

Deepali Rao, a homemaker, agrees. She says, “I happened to be at a mall and got to know that the ticket prices were lowered for a day. It was tough to make a sudden plan. These things should be advertised better.”

Cine experts say that cinemas are trying to keep footfalls up by organising these special days. Girish Johar, producer and business analyst, says, “The major learning from National Cinema Day was that if ticket prices are comparatively low, then moviegoers will come to theatres. But there should be a movie good enough to watch, and that’s the reason this day was nothing like the last National Cinema Day.” 

He adds, “But it definitely increases engagement. These activities help a lot, entice audiences and keep people in the habit of watching films at theatres.” Exhibitors also share that more such days will be celebrated from time to time in the future.

Even as the average cost of a movie ticket dipped last year, as compared to 2019, it went slightly up with major releases and reached its peak toward the end of 2022. Till 2019, a drop in ticket price was nearly unthinkable, but now cinemas are trying this model to attract footfall and sustain the business. Exhibitors say that Cinema Lover’s Day took inspiration from National Cinema Day and the overwhelming response to it.

An exhibitor says, “It was basically a strategy to attract more moviegoers on slow days. For the next few weeks, we have big releases lined up and offering this treat to moviegoers would not have been possible. Besides, due to few releases this month, we have witnessed a dull period at cinemas.”

FIRST RELEASE OF 2023 FLOPS; PATHAAN’S ADVANCE GIVES HOPE; CINEMA LOVER’S DAY TO BOOST FOOTFALLS

Not much was expected from Kuttey, the first major Bollywood release of 2023. Yet, its dismal opening and lack of jump in collections did give a shock. The word of mouth was extremely mixed and moreover, it looked like a niche product. As a result, it’ll collect only around Rs. 3-3.25 crores in Week 1. Though the coming weekend is open, it’ll not be advantageous for the film.

The South films – Varisu and Thunivu – meanwhile did very well though due to the clash, the collections got affected for both. Varisu also saw a release in Hindi and the collections were underwhelming but it's better than that of Kuttey. It is set to collect Rs. 6 crores in Week 1 and its lifetime collections will be around Rs. 10 crores.

Tomorrow, two major films will be released. One is Akhanda’s Hindi version. The original Telugu version was released on December 2, 2021, and emerged as a smashing hit as its word of mouth was supremely positive. However, just like most South dubbed films, it is releasing with very minimal awareness. The hope is that it’ll grow with positive word of mouth and even sustain the Pathaan wave. The first day collections should be around Rs. 50-75 lakhs and might cross the Rs. 1 crore mark. If Hindi audiences also love the film, the film can see a huge jump on Saturday.

The other release is the Hollywood animated film, Puss In Boots: The Last Wish. Due to limited films in cinemas, it has got a very wide release. The collections can be strong in certain cities during the weekend.

Meanwhile, the collections on Friday, January 20, are expected to be encouraging as all theatres are celebrating Cinema Lovers Day. As part of the celebrations, prices of all shows would be just Rs. 99. The IMAX tickets are priced in the range of Rs. 199 and Rs. 299. Films like Avatar: The Way Of Water and the Marathi film Ved, starring Riteish Deshmukh, have got maximum bookings followed by Puss In Boots: The Last Wish and the Marathi film Vaalvi.

Lastly, the advance booking of Pathaan has taken a flying start. It has already sold 1 lakh tickets for the opening day. If all goes well, the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer will emerge as one of the biggest openers of all time. We’ll discuss this aspect in detail in the next edition of Bollywood Talk.

2022 ENDS ON A SAD NOTE AS CIRKUS FLOPS

A lot was expected from Cirkus, the last big release of 2022. In last week’s edition, we informed readers that the advance booking of the film is not upto the mark. Yet, it seemed like the film will open in the range of Rs. 10-13 crores. We had mentioned that if it opens in single digits, it’ll be a shocker.

Sadly, the worst fears came true as the spot bookings didn’t pick up and Cirkus ended up with the first day collections of just Rs. 6.50 crores. The reports were bad and hence, it saw a drop on Saturday, when it collected Rs. 6.25 crores. On Sunday, due to the big Christmas holiday, the collections jumped to Rs. 8 crores, which was not enough. The weekend collections, hence, were just Rs. 20.75 crores and this ideally should have been its first day earnings.

On Monday, Avatar: The Way Of Water and Drishyam 2 picked up but Cirkus had more than a 50% drop as compared to Friday. On its fourth day, it collected Rs. 2.75 crores. The collections in the next three days remained steady. This was a surprise as usually, a rejected film keeps falling with each passing day. Cirkus, however, is probably having an advantage of the holiday season. Hence, it might have some sort of respectable collections in the coming weekend, with the big January 1 holiday falling on Sunday. From Monday, January 2, however, it will have a major drop. While the first week's collections will be in the range of Rs. 30 crores, it now remains to be seen if it's able to cross the Rs. 40 crores mark in its lifetime.

2022 has not been a good year for the Hindi film industry as several biggies flopped. Drishyam 2’s surprise blockbuster success had given hope and all eyes were on Cirkus. What’s worse is that there’s no major release till Republic Day, when Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan arrives in cinemas. Fortunately, the theatres are safe as they’ll be playing Avatar: The Way Of Water. It held very well in the second week and by Thursday, it would have collected Rs. 285 crores at the Indian box office. It is expected to see another jump in the festive weekend when it’ll enter the Rs. 300 crores club.

Meanwhile, a Marathi film, Ved, will release tomorrow in Maharashtra and a few other centres. It marks the directorial debut of Riteish Deshmukh. The film also features him as an actor and his wife Genelia Deshmukh along with Jiya Shankar. Riteish and Genelia have also produced the movie. It is the remake of the 2019 Telugu film Majili, starring Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu. The film has got decent advances and it can grow big time if the word of mouth is positive. Due to the debacle of Cirkus, it has got additional shows. A highlight of the film is the cameo of Salman Khan in the song ‘Ved Lavlay’.

Avatar: The Way Of Water, as expected, makes for a one-of-a-kind experience. The visuals this time are far more stunning than what it was in the first part. The climax is nearly 45-50 minutes long and has enough action and hence, will give you your money's worth. Also, the film works big time emotionally. What is also a plus is that it's easy to understand as James Cameron, in his trademark style, narrates the story in a neat and uncomplicated manner. On the flipside, the film is too lengthy. Nothing much happens after a point in the first half as Cameron uses the template of the first part of establishing the world before intermission and then going all out later on. Speaking of performances, Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana play the lead part with perfection. Stephen Lang, yet again, impresses as the antagonist. Sigourney Weaver (Grace/Kiri) and Jake Champion (Spider) leave a huge mark. Jamie Flatters (Neteyam) and Britain Dalton (Lo'ak) do well but it's difficult to distinguish between the two. Bailey Bass (Tsireya) is cute and does well. Kate Winslet (Ronal) essays a strong character but gets limited scope. All in all, Avatar: The Way Of Water justifiably takes the story forward and shouldn’t be missed. It’ll be criminal to wait for its pirated print or OTT release…this one is only and only meant for the BIG screen!

My rating - **** ½ out of 5!

WILL THE HIGH TICKET PRICES PROVE TO BE A BOON OR BANE FOR AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER?

The last three weeks weren’t up to the mark for the box office. Except for Drishyam 2, all the new releases underperformed or bombed. All eyes are now on Avatar: The Way Of Water, which is all set to release tomorrow, Friday, December 16. It is the sequel to the much-loved film, Avatar, which continues to be the biggest grosser ever. Even in India, it worked big time. Hence, the expectations are tremendous from the sequel.

Avatar: The Way Of Water, just like the first part, promises to be a visual spectacle and an emotional drama. The teaser was out way back in July 2022 and ever since, the hype for the film increased manifold. It is directed by James Cameron, who became a reputed name after the blockbuster success of Titanic. His films work even among the masses in India as they know that his films are easy to understand and relate to and at the same time, it provides a wholesome cinematic experience. The 20th Century Fox team has also gone all out to ensure that the film makes enough noise.

The reviews of the film have been largely positive in Overseas and India and this has also made people confident that it’ll be worth a watch. However, the ticket rates are sky high. Such prices have never been seen for any film in India. Yet, a section of the audience has booked tickets. At the same time, several moviegoers have decided to adopt a wait-and-watch policy. While some would prefer the audience word of mouth to come in before deciding to book, several have made it clear that they’d like to watch the film only when the prices come down.

Avatar: The Way Of Water has got a wide release and in Mumbai, shows commence at 12:00 am. This usually happens in select theatres or in IMAX and 4DX screens. But in the case of this film, midnight screenings will be held in several theatres. Sadly, many non-IMAX and non-4DX shows at midnight or early morning at 5:00 and 6:00 am are empty and in some shows, not a single ticket has been booked. Even films like Drishyam 2 and Brahmastra had shows at these odd times but these were added from day 2 after it became clear that the films have tremendous demand. But with Avatar: The Way Of Water, the studio is so confident that it held midnight and post-midnight shows from the day of release. Hopefully, these shows will get satisfactory footfalls from Saturday onwards.

Due to the excitement and insane ticket prices, Avatar: The Way Of Water will take a huge opening. At present, it looks like it’ll open in the range of Rs. 35-40 crores, which will make it the second biggest Hollywood opener of all time after Avengers: Endgame. It’ll have competition from Cirkus next week after which it has a clean four week run. As a result, if public reports are strong, Avatar: The Way Of Water can go anywhere and even cross the Rs. 250 and Rs. 300 crore marks!

The other release of the week is Govinda Naam Mera, starring Vicky Kaushal, Kiara Advani and Bhumi Pednekar. Directed by Shashank Khaitan and produced by Karan Johar, it releases directly on Disney+ Hotstar. It looks like a fun film and the song ‘Bijli’ has got registered among movie buffs. Hence, it can get a decent viewership, especially if the word of mouth is encouraging.