Dwayne Johnson-starrer Black Adam was released in India on Thursday, one day ahead of its global release on October 21. The film opened to mixed reviews but still managed to register a decent opening at the box office. While the numbers are lower than some recent Marvel blockbusters, they are higher than many recent Bollywood films like Doctor G and Goodbye.
As per trade sources, Black Adam netted ₹6 crore in India on Thursday in all languages. The number is substantially higher than the first day collections of Ayushmann Khurrana’s Doctor G ( ₹3.8 crore) and Amitabh Bachchan’s Goodbye (less than ₹1 crore). It s also higher than the previous big DC release The Batman, which earned ₹5.75 crore in India on its opening day in March.
However, the numbers pale in comparison to how some Marvel Cinematic Universe films have done of late. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which was released in May, earned ₹27.50 crore in India on its day one. Spider-Man: No Way Home set the pandemic-era record for Hollywood films in India with an impressive haul of ₹32 crore on its opening day. Trade insiders say that Marvel commands a greater craze in India as compared to DC. In addition, Black Adam is a relatively unknown character in the country.
Black Adam is the origin story of the DC Comics antihero Teth Adam. In the comics, the character has been a foe of Shazam and Superman. The film is set within the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, the film also stars Aldis Hodge, Noah Centino, Sarah Shahi, and Pierce Brosnan. The film features several actors from the DCEU reprising their roles in cameos, including Djimon Hounsou as Shazam, Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, and Henry Cavill as Superman.
