Avatar: Fire and Ash grossed Rs. 29 crore (Rs. 24 crore nett) / USD 3.25 million approx on Sunday at the Indian box office. This takes its opening weekend haul to Rs. 77 crore (Rs. 63.50 crore nett) / USD 8.60 million approx. These figures exclude 3D surcharges; including them, the real gross is Rs. 87 crore / USD 9.70 million approx.
The film ranks as the sixth-biggest opening weekend grosser of all time for a Hollywood release in India, falling just short of Deadpool and Wolverine. That’s an improvement from its eighth rank for opening day.
The opening weekend business is roughly half of what its predecessor, Avatar: The Way of Water, managed in 2022, when it grossed Rs. 152 crore. That said, the trend appears better this time, largely due to a smaller contribution from South India, which tends to be more frontloaded. Additionally, the significantly lower Friday opening provided more room for growth over the weekend.
Good as these numbers are for the film, they are significantly down from Avatar 2 and the franchise and James Cameron standards in general. Some in trade will be attributing this fall to competition from Dhurandhar, but that explanation only goes so far. Relative to Avatar 2, collections are more down in the South than the Hindi circuits, which means Dhurandhar isn’t the primary cause. Yes, there is an impact, but it’s not the only factor.
Avatar 2 was a highly anticipated sequel to the world’s biggest film, which was released thirteen years after the original. The pent-up demand for an Avatar film, which was there for The Way of Water, isn’t there in play this time. The sequel also probably wasn’t as well-received as the original was, which has likely translated into lower anticipation for the third film.
The Box Office Collections of Avatar: Fire and Ash in India are as follows:
Day
Gross
Friday
Rs. 22.00 cr.
Saturday
Rs. 26.00 cr.
Sunday
Rs. 29.00 cr.
Total
Rs. 77.00 cr.
Looking ahead, the film does have a big holiday period at its disposal. The reception seems to be fine; therefore, it should be able to post a big final number, just not to the level of expectations from an Avatar film. While both previous Avatar films went on to become the highest-grossing Hollywood releases in India at the time of their release, Avatar 3 is expected to fall well short of that.