The last three weeks weren’t up to the mark for the box office. Except for ‘Drishyam 2’, all the new releases underperformed or bombed. All eyes are now on ‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’, which is all set to release tomorrow, Friday, December 16. It is the sequel to the much-loved film, ‘Avatar’ (2009), which still continues to be the biggest grosser ever. Even in India, it worked big time. Hence, the expectations are tremendous from the sequel.
‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’, just like the first part, promises to be a visual spectacle and an emotional drama. The teaser was out way back in July 2022 and ever since, the hype for the film increased manifold. It is directed by James Cameron, who became a reputed name after the blockbuster success of ‘Titanic’ (1997). His films work even among the masses in India as they know that his films are easy to understand and relate to and at the same time, it provides a wholesome cinematic experience. The 20th Century Fox team has also gone all out to ensure that the film makes enough noise.
The reviews of the film have been largely positive Overseas and India and this has also made people confident that it’ll be worth a watch. However, the ticket rates are sky high. Such prices have never been seen for any film in India. Yet, a section of the audience has booked tickets. At the same time, several moviegoers have decided to adopt a wait-and-watch policy. While some would prefer the audience word of mouth to come in before deciding to book, several have made it clear that they’d like to watch the film only when the prices come down.
‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’ has got a wide release and in Mumbai, shows commence at 12:00 am. This usually happens in select theatres or in IMAX and 4DX screens. But in the case of this film, midnight screenings will be held in several theatres. Sadly, many non-IMAX and non-4DX shows at midnight or early morning at 5:00 am and 6:00 am are empty and in some shows, not a single ticket has been booked. Even films like ‘Drishyam 2’ and ‘Brahmastra’ had shows at these odd times but these were added from day two after it became clear that the films have tremendous demand. But with ‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’, the studio is so confident that it held midnight and post-midnight shows from the day of release. Hopefully, these shows will get satisfactory footfalls from Saturday onwards.
Due to the excitement and insane ticket prices, ‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’ will take a huge opening. At present, it looks like it’ll open in the range of Rs. 35 to 40 Crore, which will make it the second biggest Hollywood opener of all time after ‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019). It’ll have competition from ‘Cirkus’ next week after which it has a clean four week run. As a result, if public reports are strong, ‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’ can go anywhere and even cross the Rs. 250 and Rs. 300 Crore marks.
The other release of the week is ‘Govinda Naam Mera’, starring Vicky Kaushal, Kiara Advani and Bhumi Pednekar. Directed by Shashank Khaitan and produced by Karan Johar, it releases directly on Disney+ Hotstar. It looks like a fun film and the song “Bijli” has got registered among movie buffs. Hence, it can get a decent viewership, especially if the word of mouth is encouraging.
