‘Avengers: Infinity War’—India’s highest Hollywood grosser

The Anthony and Joe Russo directed film Avengers: Infinity War has also topped $450 million domestically in the US in just nine days and the $1 billion mark worldwide in a record 11 days, according to movie website Box Office Mojo. Photo: Marvel Studios/AP

Disney’s superhero flick Avengers: Infinity War has surpassed the net box office collections of its own fantasy adventure The Jungle Book and is now India’s highest grossing Hollywood film. Minting Rs192.28 crore in less than two weeks, the film has beaten the Rs188 crore earnings of The Jungle Book, which held the record till now.

The Anthony and Joe Russo directed film has also topped $450 million domestically in the United States in just nine days and the $1 billion mark worldwide in a record 11 days, according to movie website Box Office Mojo.Earlier, the Marvel blockbuster had collected $641 million across the world over its first weekend, smashing the record held by The Fate of the Furious(2017), which had gathered $542 million in its first weekend. To be sure, the film hasn’t opened in China yet, a key market.

Released in about 2,100 screens, Infinity War also notched up records for the highest opening weekend and day in India. Earning Rs94.3 crore by the end of its first three days, it broke the previous record for a Hollywood film’s biggest opening weekend in India which was held by The Fate of the Furious, that had made Rs51.19 crore.

The superhero flick also left big-ticket Bollywood offerings behind. Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s war epic Padmaavathad earned Rs75 crore in its opening weekend while action thriller Baaghi 2 earned Rs72.5 crore.

Trade website Box Office India reported that the film continued to register high occupancy across India despite a limited release with the screening of the film restricted to DCI (Digital Cinema Initiatives)-compliant theatres. DCI is a joint venture of several film studios, including Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, 20th Century Fox, Universal Studios, The Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros, to set up a common set of requirements that ensure a high and uniform standard of digital cinema viewing.

Before release, the film had broken records for advance booking too. Online ticketing site BookMyShow said it had clocked advance sales of a million tickets within four days, the highest ever for a Hollywood film in India and the second highest after war epic Baahubali 2: The Conclusion which released last year.