Avengers: Endgame may mirror Baahubali success

In April 2017, Baahubali 2 smashed box office records to become India’s top grossing film in just six days.

Walt Disney’s last instalment of the popular superhero franchise, Avengers, has managed to stir up excitement and anticipation comparable to SS Rajamouli’s epic fantasy Baahubali 2: The Conclusion which released two years ago.

The new film will play in several Indian languages, with 50-60% of the screening estimated to be in Hindi

Both movies sold over a million tickets on online ticket booking website, BookMyShow, within 24 hours from the start of advance booking. Advance bookings for Avengers: Endgame crossed over 2.5 million tickets on BookMyShow on Thursday—the highest ever for a Hollywood film on the platform. It is also the fastest film to have surpassed the 2 million advance ticket sales mark on BookMyShow. Film trade analyst Taran Adarsh said, “After Baahubali 2, the buzz for this film is unprecedented, unheard of and unimaginable. I loved the film, its filled with surprises,” added Adarsh, who saw the film on Wednesday at a preview screening organised by Disney India.

In April 2017, Baahubali 2 smashed box office records to become India’s top grossing film in just six days. “When the buzz starts reaching you from corners you never expected is when you know the buzz is really there,” said Bikram Duggal, head studio entertainment at Disney India.

The unexpected corners Duggal refers to are people outside key metros like Mumbai and Delhi. Last year, Avengers: Infinity War became the highest grossing Hollywood film in India clocking over ₹227 crore at the box office, with 16 million footfalls.

The new film will play in several Indian languages, with 50-60% of the screening estimated to be in Hindi, said Duggal. According to him, Marvel is now the larger part of the superhero genre in India. “We have been able to form a huge fan community because we have taken them on a journey for the last 11 years... We’ve released three films each on Iron Man, Captain America and Thor. So, its built a strong emotional connect with the original heroes of Avengers,” said Duggal.