It is on track to net over ₹ 500 crore in the country, a mark usually reserved for blockbusters like Pathaan, RRR , Animal, and the rest. Spider-Man was always big in India. Ever since Tobey Maguire first swung onto the big screen over two decades ago, India’s love affair with the friendly neighbourhood superhero has sustained. But since COVID, there has been a marked shift in how Spider-Man films have performed in the country. The latest Tom Holland -starrer, Brand New Day, is a good example. In its opening weekend, the Marvel-Sony joint production was outpacing Shah Rukh and Salman Khan’s biggest films in the country.
HT: When a Hollywood film does a $50 million gross in India, I see it as a win for India as much as I see this as a win for Spider-Man, because a lot of studios will notice this. Is it setting a benchmark for an entire industry or a market?
Shony Panjikaran: He was there only for 24 hours. It was an anime film doing about $9 million. Then this year, Project Hail Mary did $10 million, and Obsession – a Universal film – also made $10 million.
Because india is the only country or the only big country where it’s become the biggest Hollywood blockbuster of all time, and that too, in just 11 days, it shows the love Spider-Man and especially this film had from all the Indian fans. Because he was promoting two films at one time, if you look at his schedule, it was really jam-packed. As the film continues on its record-breaking journey, HT speaks to Shony Panjikaran, General Manager & Head of Sony Pictures Releasing International, India, about Brand New Day’s success and what it means for the film industry at large. Excerpts: Shony Panjikaran: I would say we were very bullish. We knew that we were going to have quite a big one. Spider-Man is a big brand in India. No Way Home (the previous release) was a huge success, and we knew this was perfect. We never thought it was going to be this big. It was quite tough, and in that time, to manage all that he did was spectacular. I don’t think anybody else could have pulled it off. We were very happy that he was in India, and I’m sure you saw how the fans reacted. his presence definitely helped Although he had come to promote a different film. Shony Panjikaran: I wouldn’t like to take all the credit for that. There has been a big shift in Hollywood films in India. In the recent past, they have been delivering some really good numbers at the box office. That is a great shift for Hollywood, and this is obviously being noticed by people worldwide.
But having said that, I’m with you.
It probably started last year with our own film, Demon Slayer .
This is reserved for the biggest of the local stars. Not even a Hindi star would get that kind of reaction in Andhra Pradesh-Telangana. I keep telling people that right now, Tom Holland is the biggest pan-India star. Spider-Man was always pan-India as a character, but Tom has taken it to the next level altogether. He’s huge, and what he’s done for Spider-Man and for the brand is something every fan is really thankful for.
Shony Panjikaran: Yes, honestly, we were very surprised, and when some of this stuff was coming to us, we said, ‘Oh my god, what is happening?
