How Marvel movies have performed in clashes with Bollywood flicks
India is one of the key markets for Hollywood films, especially for Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) projects. Over the years, many Marvel releases have clashed at the Indian box office with Bollywood films. While it had been a close fight most times, there was a clearer winner in several cases. Here, we take a look at some of the biggest Bollywood vs Marvel clashes.
'Tiger 3' v/s 'The Marvels'
It looks like the battle is already half won for Tiger 3, which is scheduled to release in the theaters on Sunday on Diwali. The Nia DaCosta directorial, The Marvels, which was released on Friday, collected Rs. 2.5 crore on its opening day in India. However, the Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, and Emraan Hashmi starrer has reportedly minted over Rs. 16cr through advance bookings.
'The Kerala Story' v/s 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3'
The Kerala Story has been one of 2023's biggest releases and possibly the only female-led Hindi movie to cross Rs. 300 crore (worldwide) this year. Starring Adah Sharma, it was such a huge success that it beat Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 at the ticket window in May. Even though multiple controversies surrounded it, the film performed better than the James Gunn directorial.
'Shehzada' v/s 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania'
In February, Kartik Aaryan and Kriti Sanon's Shehzada was up against Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, and Jonathan Majors starrer Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The superhero movie was a solid competition against Shehzada—a Hindi remake of the Telugu film Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo. Ultimately, Ant-Man 4 brought back the challenges that most Bollywood movies face while competing with superhero flicks with a strong Indian fan base.
'Sooryavanshi' v/s 'Eternals'
In 2021, filmmaker Rohit Shetty's Sooryavanshi clashed with Chloé Zhao's directorial Eternals over the Diwali week. While the former starred Akshay Kumar and Kaif in the lead roles, Eternals was a multi-starrer movie featuring Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, Kit Harington, and others. In this box office battle, the Bollywood cop-drama was the winner. It collected nearly Rs. 300 crore.
'1920 London' v/s 'Captain America: Civil War'
You don't need us to tell you which film was the winner in this 2016 clash. There was no chance for the horror movie, starring Sharman Joshi in the lead, to stand against Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans. Clearly, Indian audiences preferred Captain America: Civil War, helmed by the Russo brothers, over 1920 London, as it went on to collect Rs. 100 crore.
