New Delhi: What is usually considered the start of an exciting summer season turned out to be a fairly profitable time at the movies. While Tiger Shroff-starrer Baaghi 2 spilled over from March to add to April revenue with current box office earnings of Rs162.97 crore, the other big-ticket offering came from Hollywood, Marvel’s superhero flick Avengers: Infinity War that has already smashed box office records with opening weekend earnings of Rs94.30 crore.
“Avengers: Infinity War is definitely the movie of the month. It has set new box office records and continues to enjoy a phenomenal run,” said Ashish Saksena, chief operating officer-Cinemas, BookMyShow.
Bollywood didn’t do too badly on its own. Apart from Baaghi 2, there were new releases like Varun Dhawan-starrer October that has made Rs39.24 crore and Irrfan Khan’s black comedy Blackmail that has earned Rs20.20 crore.
“October ticked off all the boxes as far as good content and smart economics were concerned. It’s a different film that has done decently, which is great because such films should be made,” said film trade and exhibition expert Girish Johar.
The one offering that didn’t make waves was Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi’s Beyond The Clouds that has only minted Rs1.50 crore, even lower than the other Bollywood offering it was released alongside --- Abhay Deol-starrer Nanu Ki Jaanu that has earned Rs4 crore.
While Avengers continues to create box office history, it was a profitable month for other Hollywood releases as well.
“Rampage did more than decent business despite average reviews, once again proving that Dwayne Johnson is among the most bankable film stars in the world,” Saksena said. “A Quiet Place had a limited release, started slow but picked up steam and reaffirmed that word-of-mouth continues to matter in this business.”
The other big winner this month was regional cinema with Mahesh Babu’s Telugu political thriller Bharat Ane Nenu that has grossed Rs160 crore worldwide and is fast on its way to becoming the lead superstar’s biggest hit ever.
To be sure, there is much to look forward to this coming month. Starting with Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor-starrer 102 Not Out this week, there’s Alia Bhatt’s period thriller Raazi directed by Meghna Gulzar and Marvel’s next superhero flick Deadpool 2.
“There is a lot on the plate. All these films are attracting eyeballs,” Johar said.
All figures have been sourced from movie website Bollywood Hungama.