'Avatar' crosses Rs.1 bn mark in India

New Delhi, Jan 22 (IANS) Acclaimed filmmaker James Cameron's 3-D sci-fi epic "Avatar" has grossed around Rs.101 crore at the Indian box office in five weeks.

Released Dec 18 last year, the movie has become the biggest Hollywood grosser at the Indian box office. It has surpassed the collections of Roland Emmerich's disaster film "2012" that had reportedly reached the Rs.100 crore mark, said a statement from Fox Star Studios India.

"Avatar" has also become the second biggest film in India in the last one month after Aamir Khan's hit "3 Idiots" that managed to gross over Rs.315 crore worldwide in just 19 days.

"The phenomenal success of 'Avatar' has been a trailblazer as viewers responded across metro cities as well as smaller markets making 'Avatar' the second largest film for 2009 after '3 Idiots'," Vijay Singh, CEO, Fox Star Studios India, said in a statement Friday.

The collections were at an equilibrium in both single-screens as well as multiplexes with 49 and 51 percent earnings respectively. The 3-D collections also amounted to around 35 percent of the total earnings.

The English prints of the movie brought in about Rs.50.5 crore here, while Hindi and Tamil-Telugu dubbed versions earned about Rs.26 crore and Rs.24 crore respectively.

Produced by 20th Century Fox, "Avatar" is a blend of live-action photography and virtual photo realistic production techniques. Touted as the most expensive film ever, it is made at a whopping $230-million (Rs.1,200-crore) budget and has crossed $1.3 billion in earnings worldwide.

Starring Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver and Zoe Saldana, the movie depicts the story of a wounded ex-marine thrust unwillingly into an effort to exploit an exotic planet rich in biodiversity. He eventually crosses over to lead the indigenous race in a battle for survival.

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