The new Superman movie had a stellar opening at the Indian box office, collecting around Rs. 29 crore (USD 3.40 million) on its first weekend. This opening is the third-highest DC movie weekend gross in India after Batman v Superman (Rs. 34 crore) and Aquaman (Rs. 30 crore). Yet to note is that the latter two had preview shows included in these figures. As far as the strict Friday-Saturday-Sunday framework is concerned, Superman is now at the number one position for a DC release.
Beating the Competition
What is noteworthy is that Superman beat Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Rs. 28 crore) as well, despite opening just a shade lower on its first day. This shows immense word-of-mouth and audience interaction over the weekend.
The movie tracked a typical superhero box office trend front-loaded Friday based on fan excitement, followed by 35% increase on Saturday, which is healthy for the genre. Sunday decreased by a mere 5%, a typical trend for Hollywood movies that rely heavily on metro cities.
Future Box Office Projections
Basing it on trends of previous superhero movies in India, Superman should close in the Rs. 60–70 crore mark. To put it into perspective, The Batman closed at Rs. 56 crore (2.15x opening weekend), and Guardians Vol. 3 closed at Rs. 68 crore (2.43x multiple).
While Marvel has cornered the superhero market in India, DC has found it difficult to find an equivalent hold. Director James Gunn’s brand of filmmaking sticks better in the West, but Superman’s respectable Indian opening indicates increasing interest in DC’s developing cinematic universe.
Indeed, given its underwhelming overseas beginning, India has turned out to be one of Superman’s more successful overseas markets—solidifying its box office stint as a respectable hit.
