'Avengers: Infinity War' set to beat Jungle Book's box office record

Having made Rs 1.87 billion in 10 days, the Marvel superhero juggernaut is set to crush Mowgli's Rs 1.88-billion haul at the box office

In a span of two years, Disney India has managed to snap the top two spots in the highest earning Hollywood movies' list in India. 

Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War has raced to the top of the list at Rs 1.92 billion (net after taxes) in box office collection, beating 2016’s The Jungle Book (Rs 1.88 bn). Both movies are products of the Disney stable.  

Infinity War is the 19th movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), which started with the first Ironman film in 2008. The film follows Mad Titan Thanos in his quest for the Infinity Stones, so that he can wipe out half the universe. It stars more than 20 of Marvel’s superheroes and is the culmination of multiple storylines established in the movies that came in the past decade.

Released on April 27, along with the rest of the world, Infinity War was one of the widest Hollywood releases in the country at 2,000 screens, and opened with Rs 313 million, second highest opening at the box office this year. 

“The phenomenal response reinforces that with every release, Marvel’s fan base is only getting bigger, cutting across gender, boundaries and age-groups. We are thrilled by the overwhelming response,” said Bikram Duggal, executive director and head, studio entertainment, at Disney India. 

Analysts believe the success of the first two Avengers films, Avengers (2012) and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) helped attract footfall for Infinity War. The increase in market share of Hollywood films from 13 per cent in 2013 to 20-21 per cent has also helped, as the audience opting to see Hollywood films has expanded. The recent success of Black Panther added to the footfalls, since the team there is part of Avengers: Infinity War.

Other movies in the top five are two in the Fast and Furious franchise (F7 and Fate of the Furious) and Sony Pictures’ Jurassic World, reboot of the cult Jurassic Park series. As a result, Disney and Universal have two movies each in the top five list and Sony Pictures has one. Incidentally, Disney India currently markets and distributes only Hollywood movies in the country, having exited regional and Bollywood movie production a couple of years earlier. 

The superhero flick has also been helped by the scale at which Disney marketed the movie in India. And, the fact that it had a clear run of the box office. Suniel Wadhwa, independent distributor abd box office analyst, adds: “In terms of new releases, there isn't any major competition hitting theatres that should cause the superhero film to lose audience. I anticipate the lifetime box office should settle at Rs 2.35-2.4 billion. This means 2018 will see a major jump in terms of contribution from Hollywood films at the box office, especially with releases like Deadpool and Jurassic World lined up this summer.”

While the Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor starrer, 102 Not Out, released a week after Infinity War, the two managed to co-exist at the box office. 

Disney’s strategy for its Hollywood films, especially those with mass appeal, has been honing a sharp focus on localisation in its distribution and marketing. Infinity War released in three Indian languages – Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, apart from English. Apart from dubbing the content in these languages, the studio also marketed the dubs extensively, especially where they tapped into visible local talent like Rana Dagubatti who has voiced Thanos in the Telugu version. As a result, revenue contribution from the language dubs (49 per cent) has been almost at par with the English version (51 per cent). 

Marvel’s superhero flicks have done well in India over the past few years, as a result. Avengers: Age of Ultron raked in close to Rs 700 million in 2015, while 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok made Rs 600 mn. The franchise has been helped by Disney’s marketing push beyond promos and hoardings. Making use of an extensive consumer products portfolio, the studio maintains a steady chatter around its superhero characters through merchandise marketing and brand tie-ups as well.