Hollywood
BookMyShow sells over 3.5 million tickets for Avengers: Infinity War; contributes close to 45% to its opening weekend collection in India
MUMBAI: Avengers: Infinity War set new records on BookMyShow as it became the first Hollywood film to sell an unprecedented 12 tickets a second when the bookings were at its peak on the weekend. BookMyShow has so far sold over 3.5 million tickets for this mega blockbuster and has contributed close to 45% to the film’s opening weekend collection in India.
The advance sales of the film were driven majorly by its English version given the high decibel buzz surrounding it. However, once the film released on April 27, 2018, BookMyShow witnessed a huge spike in the tickets sales for regional language versions of the film. 74% sales for its Hindi version happened post the release of the film indicating the massive role played by strong word of mouth.
BookMyShow, VP- Marketing and Business Intelligence, Marzdi Kalianiwala said, “BookMyShow has received an overwhelming response for Avengers: Infinity War and combining forces with Disney India went a long way in achieving such phenomenal results. The film, with its strong fan following and powerful content and storytelling has created new records on BookMyShow. By contributing close to 45% to the film’s opening weekend Net collections, we are thrilled to have been the default movie ticketing platform for millions of Avengers fans across the country.”
“The performance of the movie is a testament to the strength of the Marvel brand in India. Epic storytelling combined with our localization efforts has resulted in Marvel movies rewriting the box office records year-on-year. We always strive to work with the best-in class partners like BookMyShow whose efforts have enabled us to extend the experience to cinema-goers across the country,” said Bikram Duggal – Head, Studio Entertainment, Disney India.
Avengers: Infinity War also earlier created the record for highest ever advance sales on BookMyShow among Hollywood films. It sold over 1 million tickets even before the film’s release. BookMyShow also joined forces with Disney India to combine their digital efforts for this film and together developed a deeper understanding of consumer buying behaviour and purchase patterns.
Hollywood
US theatre group opposes Paramount, Warner Bros. merger, calls it ‘harmful’
Exhibitors warn mega deal could shrink film output and weaken cinema ecosystem
LAS VEGAS: Cinema United has come out strongly against the proposed merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery, warning it could concentrate too much power in the hands of a single player and disrupt the global film ecosystem.
Speaking at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, the group’s chief executive Michael O’Leary did not mince words as he addressed thousands of theatre owners. The deal, reportedly valued at $110 billion, was agreed in March after Netflix exited the bidding process.
“We believe this transaction will be harmful to exhibition, consumers and the entire entertainment ecosystem,” O’Leary said, cautioning that greater consolidation would allow fewer distributors to dictate terms around release windows, scheduling and access to film libraries. Theatre owners argue that such scale could reduce competition and ultimately mean fewer films making it to cinemas.
Pushing back, a spokesperson for Paramount Skydance said the merged entity plans to release 30 films annually in theatres, while continuing to operate both studios separately. The company added that the deal would expand opportunities for creators and strengthen competition by backing more projects globally.
However, exhibitors remain unconvinced. Drawing parallels with The Walt Disney Company’s 2019 acquisition of Fox, O’Leary noted a drop in wide theatrical releases post-merger, reinforcing concerns that consolidation often leads to fewer films.
“Unfortunately, history shows us that consolidation results in fewer films being produced for movie theaters,” O’Leary said.
Beyond output, Cinema United also flagged concerns around theatrical windows, warning that a combined Paramount-Warner entity could exert greater control over how long films remain exclusively in cinemas before shifting to other platforms.
With the debate set to intensify, the clash highlights a familiar tension in Hollywood: scale versus diversity. For theatre owners, the stakes are clear, as they push to ensure that bigger does not mean fewer stories on the big screen.
