Hollywood's resurgence in India is showing no signs of slowing down.
With Tom Holland-starrer Spider-Man: Brand New Day set to hit theatres on July 30, exhibitors and trade analysts are predicting one of the biggest openings ever for an English-language film, reinforcing expectations that 2026 could emerge as Hollywood's strongest year yet at the Indian box office.
The latest instalment in the Spider-Man franchise has clocked around Rs 43.6 crore in gross advance bookings for opening day, selling around 5 lakh tickets across national multiplex chains.
Advance bookings for the extended four-day opening weekend have crossed Rs 100 crore gross, with the film expected to open at around Rs 60 crore, overtaking Avengers: Endgame's Rs 53.1 crore opening-day record from 2019.
The film releases in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada, underscoring Hollywood studios' increasing focus on dubbed releases to widen their reach beyond metro audiences.
Multiplex chain PVR INOX is betting heavily on the superhero film, allocating nearly 70% of its screens to Spider-Man: Brand New Day on release day—its biggest-ever screen allocation for a Hollywood title.
"So much tremendous buzz. We've allocated almost 70% of our total shows to Spider-Man on opening day. This is unprecedented—we've never given so many shows to a Hollywood film before," Kamal Gianchandani, Chief Business Planning & Strategy, PVR INOX told media.
Gianchandani said advance bookings are almost double those of the previous Spider-Man films.
"Looking at PVR INOX numbers, we are expecting at least a Rs 45 crore-plus net opening day box office, which is phenomenal for a Hollywood film, especially on a Thursday and a working day. We knew it would be a big film, but it has exceeded our expectations by a huge margin," he said.
According to trade analyst Taran Adarsh, advance bookings suggest the film is headed for one of the biggest openings ever in India.
"The buzz surrounding Spider-Man: Brand New Day is phenomenal. If advance bookings are any indication, the new Spider-Man film is poised to register one of the biggest openings ever in India," Adarsh wrote on X.
For exhibitors, the film is also expected to lift ticket yields. While it will not benefit from IMAX exclusivity like Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, it will enjoy wide availability across premium large-format screens, including PXL, BigPix and 4DX.
"The average ticket price will be lower than The Odyssey because this is not an IMAX-exclusive release, but it will be at par with Dhurandhar and significantly higher than what we've seen over the past four months," Gianchandani said.
PVR INOX reported an average ticket price (ATP) of Rs 273 and spend per head (SPH) of Rs 161 during the June quarter. The multiplex chain also has the largest market share in Hollywood films at around 60%.
Premium pricing reflects the strong demand. Recliner seats in Mumbai are priced at as much as Rs 1,500, while 4DX 3D tickets in Bengaluru are selling for over Rs 1,700.
More importantly, exhibitors see Spider-Man as part of a much larger trend.
Following strong performances by titles such as Obsession, The Odyssey and Michael, Hollywood's pipeline remains packed with tentpole releases, including Avengers: Doomsday later this year.
"Spider-Man will break the Endgame record, and then Doomsday could break it again," Gianchandani said.
He believes the current release slate positions 2026 as a landmark year for Hollywood in India.
"Obsession, The Odyssey, Michael, Spider-Man and Doomsday—this is going to be one of the biggest years for Hollywood films in India," he said.
Source: Moneycontrol