Multiplex Association of India (MAI) estimates that cinemas in India had received advance bookings of Rs47.5 cr by Wednesday night, in terms of gross box-office revenues.
The film was released Thursday morning at certain cinema chains, with some opening as early as 4 AM.
Kamal Gianchandani, president of MAI, stated to BusinessLine that this was second in advance ticket sales for any movie in India. He also said that this was the most profitable advance ticket sale for cinemas during the pandemic.
Projection of earnings
Gianchandani said that the movie is likely to make more than Rs300 crore in lifetime collections based on early trends in advance book. This points to a sharp recovery of box office collections.
"I believe this is a sign that cinemas have returned and will continue to be here. There are a lot of movies coming out this winter, as well as the summer ahead. We also have strong blockbuster opportunities across all languages. Business will rebound strongly to pre-Covid levels in the January-March quarter, according to our expectations. He stated that we are expecting to see more occupancy and average ticket sales growth than pre-pandemic levels by the fourth quarter."
The Hollywood film is expected to break a box office record.
Alok Tandon (CEO, Inox Leisure) stated that the chain booked more than 21,000 tickets on the first day and expects this number to rise by the end.
Fans across India are eagerly awaiting the third installment of the Spider-Man franchise. We were thrilled to see the reaction from our guests, not only in the metros but all over the country, since the morning shows. We are certain that Spider-man No Way Home will be the most successful Hollywood movie ever and it will become history. Tandon stated that what we see today shows the importance of cinema and theatrical runs within the Indian film ecosystem.
Just around the corner
Pushpa: The Rise Telugu on Friday, Matrix Resurrections December 22-24, 83 on December 24 and Jersey and King's Man December 31 are some of the major movies.
January will see movies like SS Rajamouli’s RRR, Valimai (Tamil), Radhe Shiam (Telugu), and Valimai (Tamil) released.
Ashish Saksena is BookMyShow's COO Cinemas. He said that Spider-Man had set the cash registers ringing with one million tickets being sold in advance for the movie pan-Indian across all cinema chains.
He said, "After a remarkable start to the recovery process in November, Spider-Man set the tone for December. We expect another huge surge in bookings over the weekend."
