James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water grossed Rs. 20 crores in advance bookings on its first day in India. IMAX shows with ticket prices ranging from Rs. 2500 to Rs. 3000 were sold out in many cities.
Avatar: The Way of Water is expected to have a strong box office debut in India. The film sold 20 crores worth of advance tickets for its opening day across the country. Only four films have surpassed this total this year: KGF Chapter 2, RRR, Brahmastra Part One Shiva, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
According to trade sources, the film had earned slightly more than Rs 20 crore in advance bookings across India as of Thursday night. The figure is one of the top five advance booking collections in India this year, but it falls far short of the record set by KGF Chapter 2 (80 crore), which reported the highest advance booking in India ever.
While Avatar 2 sold fewer tickets in terms of highest advance booking than some of the films listed below it, it collected more due to higher average ticket prices. This is due to the film’s widespread release in 3D and IMAX theatres. Certain IMAX shows can cost up to Rs. 2500–3000 per ticket in some cities. Surprisingly, many of these shows are already sold out, even as late as Sunday.
The James Cameron film is expected to earn between 40 and 50 crores at the Indian box office on Friday, a strong start for any Hollywood film. In fact, only a few Indian films have reached this milestone this year (KGF 2 and RRR, in fact). Globally, the film is expected to gross around $600 million in its opening weekend, putting it on track to become one of the highest grossing films of all time if it continues to perform well after the weekend.
The fact that Avatar 2 has received mostly positive reviews should help with word of mouth, assuming that the audience enjoys it as much as the critics do. This will give it the necessary legs to rule the box office for the rest of the year.
Avatar: The Way of Water is the sequel to Avatar, the highest-grossing film of all time, which was released in 2009. The sequel may struggle to break that record (nearly $3 billion worldwide), but it is expected to make a strong impression on the global box office.
