Avengers: Endgame’s Opening Weekend in India Is Bigger Than Every Bollywood Film Ever

On its way to a record-setting $1.2 billion opening weekend at the worldwide box office — i.e. Avengers: Endgame worldwide collection figures — the highly-awaited Marvel movie grossed an estimated $26.7 million (about Rs. 187.14 crores) in India, which makes it the second biggest opening weekend after Baahubali 2: The Conclusion in 2017. Endgame — released in India in Hindi, English, Tamil, and Telugu — has achieved a bigger opening weekend than any Bollywood film in history, besting last year's Sanju, despite being released in fewer screens: 2,845 as opposed to over 4,000. That's because Avengers: Endgame reportedly has a much higher average theatre occupancy.

The $26.7 million opening weekend for Avengers: Endgame marks a 67 percent improvement on its predecessor, Avengers: Infinity War, which grossed $18.19 million (Rs. 120.9 crores) in the first three days. According to Avengers: Endgame collection numbers provided by Disney India, Endgame grossed Rs. 63.21 crores (about $9 million) on Friday, Rs. 61.19 crores (about $8.76 million) on Saturday, and Rs. 62.74 crores (about $8.98 million) on Sunday for a three-day total of Rs. 187.14 crores. Net box office collections, excluding entertainment tax, for the highly-awaited Marvel movie are Rs. 157.2 crores (about $22.5 million).

On its current trajectory, Endgame looks set to beat all records for Hollywood films in India. Infinity War currently leads that bracket with over Rs. 294.26 crores ($43.59 million). According to an EY-FICCI report released in March, Infinity War accounted for one-fourth of all Hollywood revenue in India. Moreover, local versions in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu make up 50-60 percent of Hollywood revenue in India, which in turn accounts for 10 percent of India's total box office.