Why Deadpool floppy and Infinity War ATBB in India?

New Delhi: Three weeks after its blockbuster Avengers: Infinity War stormed the Indian box office, Marvel Studios has notched up yet another triumph in the country with Deadpool 2, its latest superhero flick.

The Ryan Reynolds-starrer made Rs33.4 crore over its opening weekend, crossing the lifetime collections of Rs29.02 crore of the first instalment that had released in 2016. The Rs11.25 crore earnings that Deadpool 2 made on day one also rank as the fourth highest opening day collections of 2018 after Avengers (Rs31.30 crore), action drama Baaghi 2 (Rs25.10 crore) and period saga Padmaavat (Rs19 crore).

"Within just three days of release, Deadpool 2 has surpassed the lifetime collections of the previous instalment which is fantastic. The love for the coolest and wittiest superhero has grown exponentially in India and it is an incredible achievement despite the ongoing IPL (Indian Premier League) and Ramadan, said Vijay Singh, chief executive officer of Fox Star Studios which distributes the film.

"With summer holidays around, we are expecting a steady growth and looking forward to a great run at the box office.

To be sure, Fox Star hasn't skimped in putting the film out for audiences. The first step in localizing the marketing campaign of the film was to get Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh to dub for the Hindi version, a strategy that seems to have worked.

"Singh's energy is easily identifiable even in the dubbing, it's the best marketing peg Fox could have thought of, said Atul Mohan, editor of trade magazine Complete Cinema, adding the Hindi dub has contributed nearly 45-50% of the overall business of the film that has released in English, Tamil and Telugu as well, in a total of 2,000 screens.

Apart from the IPL frenzy that has reached its peak with the finale drawing close, Deadpool 2 also managed to combat the Ramadan season where people avoid going out, and the adult certification that restricts kids and young audiences.

"Other Hollywood hits like The Jungle Book and Avengers have all been U/A-rated (unrestricted public exhibition subject to parental guidance for children below the age of 12) films whereas Deadpool has managed these numbers from an 18-40 age group alone, Mohan said.

Even as the real test for the film begins this week, trade analysts are hopeful.

"Given that it's already crossed the lifetime business of the first part, it should easily breach the Rs. 50 crore mark by the end of the first week, Mohan said.