 "50 brands ride Marvel's <I>Avengers</I> sequel")
The franchise movie, which features Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson and James Spader, has tied up with 50 brands.
This is a record in India. Last year, the Priyanka Chopra- starrer Mary Kom had 25 brand associations while Fox Star Studios' Bang Bang had 30. The Amazing Spiderman 2, starring Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, released in 2014 with 38 brand associations.
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Associates for Age of Ultron include apparel, accessories, toys, and home decor. The brands on board include Amazon, Myntra, Funskool, Liberty, Hero Cycles, Pantaloons, Tupperware, Kinder Joy, Hamleys, and Landmark.
The movie will open in India on April 24, a week before the US, on 1,500 screens across the country. The first part, which released in 2012, was one of the highest grossing Hollywood movies of the year, raking in Rs 56 crore after tax. "Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron is touted to be the biggest superhero franchise sequel ever. The response to trailers and teasers has been phenomenal. The contribution of Hollywood to the Indian box office has been increasing and we are proud that Disney's slate of films are propelling this trend." said Amrita Pandey, vice-president and head of marketing and distribution, studios, Disney India.
The film is being released in India earlier to grab eyeballs. "There are no big Hindi or regional language releases on April 24. Avengers: Age of Ultron is by far the most awaited film of the year. Yes, Fast and Furious 7, at Rs 100 crore is a tough act to follow, but given the anticipation for the movie, it will perform well," said Kalam Gianchandani, president, PVR Ltd.
PVR has extended advance booking for this movie. Usually the multiplex chain starts advance booking on the Wednesday before release. In this case, it opened booking on Monday. Gianchandani said the booking so far was comparable to Happy New Year and PK.
"In the past films such as Mission Impossible, Adventures of Tintin, and Quantum of Solace were released early here because Indian audiences hungered to watch these films. The Indian market has a growing acceptance to films from Hollywood, especially films with a wide distribution strategy," said Suniel Wadhwa, an independant distributor.
Avengers: Age of Ultron will release with Hindi, Tamil and Telugu dubbing. Had it released on May 1, with the US, it would have faced competition from movies like Gabbar and Marathi film Time Pass 2.
"The superheroes featured in the movie have a strong following in India. When Robert Downey Jr stars in The Judge (2014), the box office numbers in India are not record breaking. However, when he stars as Ironman, the film becomes high grossing," Gianchandani added.