For Sony Pictures Films India, the web-spinning super hero film Spiderman: No Way Home made 2021 a blockbuster year as it brought back audiences to the theatres, despite the pandemic.

The movie set new benchmarks at the domestic box office, raking in about ₹265 crore in terms of gross box office collections so far, making it the third highest grosser in terms of Hollywood films. Its net box office collections are trending at about Rs 206.37 crore. The movie will continue to play at the theatres for at least two additional months, wherever cinemas are open.

Vivek Krishnani, MD, Sony Pictures Films India said, “Right from the time the trailer was released and the advance bookings for the ticket opened, the response was amazing. This made us confident that the film will capture the hearts and minds of people and bring them back to the cinemas like never before.”

According to the Multiplex Association of India, the film sold advance tickets worth ₹47.5 crore making it the second highest advance ticket sales clocked by a movie. It also garnered the highest opening weekend collections for 2021 despite the pandemic and 50 per cent capacity in key territories such as Maharashtra.

Dubbed versions

Krishnani said that roughly about 40 per cent of the collections have come from Hindi, Tamil and Telugu versions and the balance 60 per cent from English. He added that the wide release of the film was supported by sharp marketing and consumer engagement strategies such as a film promotion tour across eight cities.

“Over the last couple of years, Indian consumers have been exposed to a lot of content from across the globe and they have become more discerning. As content creators we need to ensure that when they decide to step out to watch a movie with their family it has to be a rewarding experience,” said Krishnani.

For 2022, the studio has a strong pipeline of Indian and Hollywood content with about 16-17 films. Besides Major , (in Telugu and Hindi ), Uncharted and Morbius are lined up for the first quarter. “We are closely monitoring the situation,” he added.

Due to the rising Covid-19 cases, in certain states multiplexes have been asked to shut. In other states, they are operating with 50 per cent occupancies and need to adhere to night curfews. But Krishnani is optimistic that things will get better. “Looking at international experience, we are hopeful that this will be a short wave, and the industry will bounce back fairly quickly,” Krishnani added.

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