The Jungle Book by Walt Disney has surpassed several Bollywood releases in the box office collections. It is the studio’s biggest success in the country and also the highest grosser in India so far in 2016.
The Jungle Book reached Rs 150 crore of net box office collection as of April 27, claims Disney India. This is greater than the net box office collection grossed by any other Hollywood film that is released in India this year that is a little over Rs 125 crore, claims Boxofficeindia.com, a trade site.
The Hollywood films that were screened in 2016 are Deadpool that grossed Rs 30.08 crore, Batman Vs Superman – Dawn of Justice that grossed Rs 47.01 crore, The Revenant that won Oscar award grossed Rs 9.71 crore, Zootopia, the animation film grossed Rs 8.28 crore, and Kung Fu Panda 3 grossed Rs 21.44 crore.
The Jungle Book was released on April 8 in India that is a week before its release in the U.S. and it was the time when the school annual exams conclude. The trade analysts claim that one of the reasons for the film’s success is the connection that is established with the audience instantly. Especially, the generation that grew up watching the animation series of the film on television was attracted to the movie. Amod Mehra, an analyst stated that The Jungle Book was released post exams making it a top attraction. Kung Fu Panda 3 was released at a very bad timing during the exams.
The fact is that none of the Bollywood films released this year managed to earn close to this Disney release. The biggest Bollywood success of 2016 has been Airlift staring Akshay Kumar that grossed Rs 125 crore.
Amirta Pandey, the VP of Studio, Disney India stated that The Jungle Book not only created new benchmarks in box office in India but also it has been a loved movie irrespective of age groups and languages.
As per the trade analysts, the film still has its glory and it might add another Rs 15 to 20 crore before it exits the screens.
