'Avengers...' sells 1 mn advance tickets in India

Marvel fans are finding themselves in a virtual queue to grab tickets for the highly anticipated superhero film "Avengers: Endgame". BookMyShow has witnessed a record advance ticket sale with one million tickets sold in just over a day.

BookMyShow witnessed a peak of 18 tickets per second, even before the film releases in cinemas on April 26 in India in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

Ashish Saksena, Chief Operating Officer - Cinemas, BookMyShow, said in a statement issued on Monday evening: "We expect 'Avengers: Endgame' to break more records as cinemas continue to open the advance bookings."

"Avengers: Endgame" is the 22nd film from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the latest after "Captain Marvel", which released last month.

The film stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson and Brie Larson, amongst others.

"'Avengers: Endgame' is not just a movie, it's an epic culmination of a decade-long journey which the fans have taken with us across 22 films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The phenomenal interest shown by audiences across the country, is testament of how this is one of the most anticipated movies for the fans and we can't wait for them to watch it," said Bikram Duggal, Head - Studio Entertainment, Disney India.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted on Monday: "'Avengers: Endgame' advance booking is unheard of, unimaginable and unprecedented. Much better than several Hindi biggies that opened in 2018 and 2019."

The interest has been more in metropolitan cities like Delhi and Mumbai.

Rahul Kadbet, Vice President Programming, Carnival Cinemas, told IANS: "Around 2.25 lakh tickets have been sold which is about 74 per cent of the capacity for weekend. We have 1000+ shows per day for the movie in over 100 cities. Maximum tickets were sold in Delhi/NCR and Mumbai."

The rush for tickets for the film, which will show supervillain Thanos engaging in an epic battle with superheroes like Iron Man, Thor and Captain America, was anticipated.

Rajender Singh Jyala, Chief Programming Officer, INOX Leisure Ltd. said: "As anticipated, across the country, the shows of 'Avengers: Endgame' are almost sold out in a very short time. The first day advance sales have been unprecedented."

The craze for the film has also made some fly to different cities.

Imphal-based engineer Sanjay Nongmaithem told IANS: "I have been following the series since its beginning in 2008 with 'Iron Man' so, I want to see how it culminates. My eight-year-old daughter, Gracy, is also a fan of the Avengers. In Manipur, our theatres don't screen Bollywood or Hollywood films so we are left with no choice but to fly to Guwahati, which is nearby."

One Twitter also posted a request on Twitter to the film's directors -- the Russo Brothers. "I am from India and a huge Marvel fan. In Silchar, Assam, there are two movie halls but none are screening 'Avengers...'. Help us."

--IANS

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