'Avengers: Infinity War' gets 'MARVEL'LOUS opening in India

"Avengers: Infinity War", which brings together 22 superheroes to fight one supervillain Thanos, minted over Rs 30 crore on the first day of its release on Friday, thereby getting a good start at the box office.

The Marvel Studios film made Rs 40.13 crore as gross box office collection and Rs 31.3 crore as nett box office collection.

"'Avengers: Infinity War' has definitely been one of the most anticipated movies of this year and the response from Indian fans across has truly been unprecedented," said Bikram Duggal, Executive Director and Head Studios and Chief Marketing Officer, Disney India, in a statement to IANS.

"With an epic storyline, larger-than-life characters and our localisation efforts, the film is setting a milestone in the cinematic universe," Duggal added.

Trade guru Taran Adarsh was amazed at the business.

He tweeted: "'Avengers: InfinityWar' smashes records. Sets the box office on fire. Biggest start of 2018 so far. Numbers are an eye-opener more so, because it was released in just 2000-plus screens... This Marvel movie is a marvel at the box office too. East. West. North. South... It's 'Avengers: Infinity War' wave across the country.

"Sets a new benchmark for Hollywood films in India."

Adarsh listed the top five films of 2018 so far, on the basis of their opening day and/or paid preview business. The list is led by "Avengers: Infinity War" (English and dubbed versions), followed by "Baaghi 2", "Padmaavat", "PadMan" and "Raid".

The newest addition to the Marvel cinematic universe opened in 2,000 Indian screen on Friday in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

Trade expert Komal Nahta tweeted: "Gosh! Gosh! Rs 30 crore-plus is the historic box office figure of Hollywood film 'Avengers: Infinity War' for day 1 in India."

Anthony and Joe Russo have brought the story alive on the big screen with actors like Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo, Benedict Cumberbatch and Scarlett Johansson.

The film also features Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Chadwick Boseman and Tom Holland.