Robert Downey Jr starrer Iron Man-3 hit the box office with a bang, successfully breaking the IPL spell.

Multiplex players said the film, on its first day of release, drew large audiences, wowing viewers beyond the metros.

This is despite the huge attraction of the ongoing IPL cricket carnival.

Though the distributors did not give out the numbers, early estimates are that the movie raked in Rs 6-7 crore on Day 1.

This is a little higher than the run-of-the-mill Bollywood movie's first-day collections, though about Rs 2 crore less than a blockbuster would bring in.

Viewership numbers

PVR Cinemas COO Gautam Dutta said viewership across the country for the early shows on Friday stood at 60-65 per cent which, he said, is very good for a Hollywood movie.

“We have seen very high corporate bookings for Friday and Saturday and Iron Man-3 is expected to do well all through the week, which is an indicator of Hollywood movies’ growing popularity,” he said. Trade analyst Komal Nahata said the movie had had an “extraordinary opening” and has done well, even in its dubbed versions.

Collections have been boosted by the wide release, with the film opening across a thousand screens.

More prints

Gaurav Verma, Director, India Theatrical Distribution Studios, Disney UTV, said: “The initial response to Iron Man-3 is overwhelming. The film has opened very well across Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and English languages.

“We are already flooded with demands for more prints,” he added.

Ashish Saksena, CEO, Big Cinemas, said that seat occupancy for the movie across the chain’s theatres was as high as 70 per cent and that its IMAX screens were going ‘house full’ as per initial estimates.

> meenakshi.v@thehindu.co.in

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