James Cameron’s magnum opus “Avatar’ is smashing all box-office records one after the other!

The epic action adventure has raked in a whopping INR 220 million in its opening weekend which not only makes it the highest ever weekend collection for any Hollywood film in India beating the opening collections of “2012′, “Titanic’ and “Spiderman 3′, but it has also left behind top Bollywood films of 2009 like “All The Best’ and “Kaminey’ in their weekend collections! The film that released in 2D as well as 3D has, in fact, has beaten the openings of recent high profile Hindi films like “Rocket Singh- Salesman Of The Year’ and “Paa’.

Released on December 18 across India in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, “Avatar’ earned a record INR 10 million through its paid previews across India; the highest for any Hollywood film in India. The film then created a record by grossing INR 67.5 million on opening day itself, making it the biggest ever Friday opening for any Hollywood film in India.

Like in English, the dubbed versions have also been attracting huge crowds. Collections from single screens were also exceptional, with theatres in Bihar, Lucknow, Kanpur, Bhopal, Allahabad, Varanasi, Jalandhar, Jammu sporting ‘Houseful’ boards across the weekend.

The number of 3D screens has seen an increase from 12 screens to over 50 screens registering a growth of over 300 percent for 2D and 3D version has seen to deliver outstanding numbers.

“‘Avatar’ has had an amazing opening and the audience reactions are fantastic with a very large proportion of them wanting to see it again. Our theatrical partners are delighted to see queues building up outside multiplexes for advance bookings of “Avatar’. The movie is being appreciated across all age groups and languages. Even theatres in the interiors where the film is being shown in Hindi in 2D format have been doing fantastic business, as also theatres in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh,” says Mr Vijay Singh, CEO, Fox Star Studios India.

“Avatar’ has opened to a good response worldwide, but its performance in India is incredible. In fact, India’s opening is amongst the top ten weekend performances in the world, beating the likes of traditionally better performing countries like Taiwan, Singapore, New Zealand, Sweden, Holland and Hong Kong.

Avatar was first conceived by Cameron 14 years ago, when the means to realize his vision did not yet exist. Starring Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver and Zoe Saldana, the film is the story of a wounded ex-marine, thrust unwillingly into an effort to settle and exploit an exotic planet rich in bio-diversity, who eventually crosses over to lead the indigenous race in a battle for survival.

With its mind-blowing visuals weaved beautifully in an epic emotional tale, the film is surely creating waves across the country.

And given the recent spate of Hollywood films like “Slumdog Millionaire’ “X-Men Origins: Wolverine’, “Ice Age 3′ and “2012′ beating their Bollywood contemporaries at the box-office, looks like B-town has got some new and stronger competition!

-Sampurn Media