James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash has had a strong but slightly underwhelming opening at the Indian box office. The third installment in the blockbuster Avatar franchise went head-to-head with Ranveer Singh’s Dhurandhar, and Friday’s box office results showed a clear winner. Despite massive advance bookings, Avatar 3 earned roughly half of what its predecessor, Avatar: The Way of Water, collected on its opening day in India. Meanwhile, Dhurandhar, directed by Aditya Dhar, continued its dominant run even on its 15th day.
On Friday, December 19th, Dhurandhar collected a net of Rs 22.50 crore, proving its continued strength despite Hollywood competition. The film, starring Ranveer Singh, Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, R. Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, and Sara Arjun, has already achieved a net collection of Rs 483.00 crore domestically and a gross of Rs 737.50 crore worldwide in just 15 days.
Avatar: Fire and Ash Indian Box Office Collection
Despite limiting Dhurandhar’s screen count by taking over many IMAX screens, Avatar: Fire and Ash earned a net collection of Rs 20 crore (approximately 2.5 billion) on its opening day across all versions, including English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada.
For comparison, the previous franchise installment, Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), had collected Rs 40.30 crore (approximately 4.5 billion) on its opening day in India. As a result, Avatar 3 opened with roughly half the earnings of its predecessor, showing that Dhurandhar’s strong presence impacted the Hollywood giant’s debut.
Weekend Boost Expected for Avatar 3
While the initial numbers appear modest, it would be premature to underestimate Avatar 3. The franchise has a massive following, and screenings in premium formats like IMAX and 4DX are running house full, which will likely boost earnings over the weekend. Additionally, Dhurandhar’s earnings are expected to gradually decline after the second week, opening the door for Avatar: Fire and Ash to capture more audience attention in theaters, especially among families.
Avatar 3 Worldwide Collection
Globally, according to Deadline, Avatar: Fire and Ash has collected 43.1 million from early releases and opening day screenings. This figure does not include China, where the film was released in limited Cinity screenings on Wednesday and in PLF formats on Thursday, reportedly earning 17.1 million.
Combined, the worldwide opening day collection stands at 60.2 million, translating to an estimated Rs 539.25 crore gross globally.
