There was a time when Hollywood films weren’t a big threat to Hindi films. But sadly, times have changed. With Bollywood films becoming more and more urban and multiplex-friendly, there was a section of moviegoers who started staying away from Hindi films. Meanwhile, Hollywood films got better in terms of scale and grandeur. Films like ‘2012’ (2009), ‘Avatar’ (2009), ‘The Jungle Book’ (2016), ‘Jurassic World’ (2015), Fast & Furious series and of course the films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe started doing huge business. These films demanded a big-screen experience and most of them also were in 3D. And you can’t replicate a 3D experience at home or on your smartphones. This also led to the public coming out in hordes to see these Hollywood films, in dubbed versions if not in original English version.
‘The Jungle Book’ was the first Hollywood film to cross the 100-crore-mark and earned nearly Rs. 180 crore. It was expected that no other film would be able to break this record. But shockingly, ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ which released last month managed to firmly overthrow this 2-year-record in just 10 days. Its lifetime collections are all set to be around Rs 225 crore mark. The opening was humongous and the biggest of the year, beating ‘Baaghi 2’ and ‘Padmaavat’.
Tomorrow, another superhero film is all set to arrive in cinemas – ‘Deadpool 2’. It is also a Marvel creation but is ‘hatke’ – it’s an ‘R’ rated superhero flick. The first part was loved for its quirky humour and novel treatment. In India however, it was not huge and did around Rs. 30 crore business. Yet, a section of trade and industry believes that ‘Deadpool 2’ can do huge business. They also cite that the word of mouth of the sequel in the West is outstanding.
However, it still might not give ‘Deadpool 2’ the edge. That’s because firstly it’s an adult film. As a result, a huge chunk of audiences are definitely going to stay away – the family crowd and children. Secondly, the success of the dubbed version is important to become a super hit or a blockbuster. ‘Deadpool 2’s Hindi version is voiced by Ranveer Singh and its trailer has been interesting. But the excitement is not tremendous. Also, ‘Deadpool’ as a franchise is not big among the Indian masses, like ‘Avengers’ or ‘Fast & Furious’. And lastly and most importantly, ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ impact has still not waned. Audiences have just seen the biggest superhero film ever and ‘Deadpool 2’ can’t match that as it’s in a different league. As a result, many would prefer staying away from the Ryan Reynolds-starrer.
The opening can however be decent. The last ‘Deadpool’ opened at Rs. 3.75 crore and this one can have around Rs. 6-7.50 crore opening. ‘Deadpool’s lifetime collections were in the Rs. 30 crore range and if masses like the sequel, it can go to around Rs. 45-50 crore. Of course, this would be a great but those expecting blockbuster business would surely be disappointed!
