Spider creates dhoom!
By:
Taran
Adarsh,
IndiaFM
Thursday,
May
10,
2007
At
a
private
screening
of
Metro
on
Saturday
night,
David
Dhawan
and
I
got
into
a
discussion
on
the
penetration
and
potential
of
Hollywood
films
in
India.
"Spider-Man
3
is
just
the
beginning.
Wait
and
watch,
Hollywood
films
will
overpower
Hindi
films
in
times
to
come," he
remarked.
I
endorse
this
statement
completely!
Times have changed indeed. Twenty years ago, an English film would be released at two/three cinemas of metros mainly. But things changed with Jurassic Park. And the growth of Hollywood films in India is for all to see. Today, a keenly anticipated Hollywood film is released at 500 + screens and the quantum of business has increased manifold in turn.
Spider-Man 3 lived up to the colossal expectations, fetching the best start of the year so far [the opening was 95%-100%]. The paid previews were packed to capacity and the opening shows on Friday were chock-a-block, even at centres where Hindi movies have an edge. In fact, the opening was so strong, so omnipotent that all Hindi films got eclipsed in the process, including last week's Ta Ra Rum Pum.
I strongly feel that Spiderman, Superman, Batman, Harry Potter and James Bond are powerful brands and the Indian audiences, especially kids, look forward to their films with as much enthusiasm as they await a Dhoom 2 or a Krrish. No wonder, you see Casino Royale and now Spider-Man 3 generating a tremendous start at the ticket counters.
Spider-Man
3
swept
like
a
hurricane
on
Saturday
and
Sunday,
setting
records
at
several
stations.
The
first
weekend
business
is
truly
gigantic,
here
are
the
stats...
- Biggest opening weekend for a foreign language film in India - Rs. 19.17 Cr.
- Biggest single day collections for a foreign language film in India - Rs. 6.64 Cr. on Friday.
- Biggest Saturday [5th May] collections for a foreign language film in India - Rs. 6.19 Cr.
- Biggest Sunday [6th May] collections for a foreign language film in India - Rs. 6.34 Cr.
- The fastest to cross the Rs. 10 crore mark - in 2 days.
- Biggest ever release - 588 prints [English 162, Hindi 261, Tamil 78, Telugu 78, Bhojpuri 6, IMAX 3]. The widest release for Hollywood in India.
- Outpaced the previous 1st weekend record holder Casino Royale [Rs. 14.94 Cr.] by 28.3 %.
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