BackIndian cinemas await ‘Wonder Woman’ for change in gear
Dubbed in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, Wonder Woman 1984 is expected to release in around 1,500-1,700 screens, wider than Tenet’s 1,100 and notch up opening weekend numbers of ₹6-8 crore compared to the latter’s ₹4.5 crore and lifetime earnings of ₹18-20 crore.
PremiumNEW DELHI : Warner Bros’ female superhero flick Wonder Woman 1984 arriving in theatres on Thursday is expected to trigger a change in gear for Indian cinemas that managed some kind of restart with Christopher Nolan’s Tenet earlier this month. The Christmas weekend, coupled with the fact that Wonder Woman is a hardcore commercial entertainer, is estimated to help the film double the opening weekend and lifetime collections of Tenet, which has made around ₹10.53 crore in the country up until now. Shut for over seven months due to the covid-19 lockdown this year, movie theatres have suffered devastating losses as a number of big-ticket and medium-budget films made their way directly to video streaming platforms.
Dubbed in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, Wonder Woman 1984 is expected to release in around 1,500-1,700 screens, wider than Tenet’s 1,100 and notch up opening weekend numbers of ₹6-8 crore compared to the latter’s ₹4.5 crore and lifetime earnings of ₹18-20 crore.
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“Wonder Woman is expected to take a bigger start than Tenet, which was more in the noir category with appeal for up-market, urban centres. This is a commercial film, far better suited to Indian tastes and exhibitors are keenly waiting for it," film trade and exhibition expert Girish Johar said.
Ashish Saksena, chief operating officer, cinemas at online ticketing site BookMyShow pointed out that Tenet performed very well, bringing audiences to the theatre and giving a substantial push to the cinema business in India, despite playing in only 40% of the cinemas it would have ordinarily managed and at 50% occupancy restrictions.
“The film’s reception has set a positive tone for the releases to follow, including Wonder Woman 1984 which carries forward the excitement and legacy of the previous instalment of the franchise and is touted as an action spectacle with human emotions and drama at its core," Saksena said. The fact that the film is a simultaneous worldwide release in a really long time not only makes the Patty Jenkins’ directorial special, but also adds to audience anticipation across demographics, he said.
Wonder Woman, whose previous instalment had earned ₹16.50 crore in India in 2017, has seen good response in metros such as Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai so far. It is taking over the Christmas baton from actor Aamir Khan, whose Laal Singh Chaddha was initially scheduled for this weekend and who is known to dominate the festival with hits such as Dangal ( ₹374.53 crore), PK ( ₹337.72 crore) and others in the past.
However, the Gal Gadot-starrer will have to combat the latest restrictions in Maharashtra, a key territory that has announced night curfew in all of the state's major cities from 11 pm to 6 am beginning 22 December till 5 January amid reports of coronavirus mutation in the United Kingdom. For movie theatres, that essentially means losing the last show of the day which begins around 9 pm and ends by midnight.
“We would lose the show considered the most prime for such Hollywood films that people usually flock to post work in the evening and Wonder Woman is targeted exactly at that crowd," Kunal Sawhney, senior vice-president at Carnival Cinemas said. Not only are these shows priced 30% higher than others, for good films they can bring in 40% more footfalls on the weekend. Carnival that had begun Wonder Woman advance booking for these shows, has had to refund customers and request them to reschedule.
That said, there is a lot riding on the Christmas release.
“All eyes are set on Wonder Woman 1984’s release and the film’s performance will determine the further course of action for film trade in India. Early signs for 2021 suggest that cinema markets in the south will push the revival cycle first, with Hollywood release dates simultaneously getting firmed up based on Wonder Woman’s performance making the film a key strategic release for India," Saksena said.
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