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Spider-Man: Brand New Day has done more than just top the box office in India. With a net box office collection of almost 479 crore in India in 22 days, the film broke almost every single box office record that exists for a Hollywood release in India! We sat for a very long conversation with Shony Panjikaran, General Manager & Head- Sony Pictures Releasing International to decode the enormous success of the film in India!
To understand how Sony Pictures pulled off a release of this scale, and what it means for the future of Hollywood cinema in India, Koimoi, and Shony Panjikaran discussed the screen counts, marketing strategy, tier-three audiences, and why Spider-Man may be India’s most relatable superhero.
Spider-Man Brand New Day Was Present On Every Screen!
Talking about the scale of the film, Shony elaborated, “It’s definitely the widest Hollywood release of all time. We started off with about 5,300–5,400 screens, which is huge not just by Hollywood benchmarks but for any Indian film. To put that in context, India operationally has around 10,000 screens right now, but Hollywood only releases in 2K format, and there are only about 5,500 2K screens in the country. So we were present on almost every 2K screen possible.”
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Walking us through the success and momentum of the film, Shony elaborated on how Sony jumped on to prepare more once the trailer dropped. He admitted that the market reaction hinted that everyone already sensed this was going to be a great film. The marketing campaign added to that momentum, and the demand kept building.
We Always Knew This Would Be Our Biggest Film!
Did Sony contemplate that Spider-Man: Brand New Day would surpass Avatar: The Way of Water? Shony Panjikaran affirms a confident Yes. “To be honest, we always believed this would be our biggest film. When we first watched it and saw what director Destin Daniel Cretton had done with it, combined with the love Spider-Man already commands in India, we knew it was going to be huge. What surprised us was the pace -beating Avatar’s record in just 11 days wasn’t something we anticipated. We were confident we’d be the biggest, but the speed at which fans turned up was genuinely unbelievable.”
This Isn’t Just About Hollywood – There Is No Ceiling For Any Good Film!
When asked if a number like a gross collection of 500 crore changes the perception of a ceiling for Hollywood films in India, Shony Panjikaran pointed out how the phenomenon is not restricted to Hollywood releases! He explains, “This isn’t just about Hollywood; it applies to any film. What we’ve seen over the past year is that when a film is genuinely good, when the character has real love behind it, and when the story carries emotion that resonates with audiences, there is no ceiling. Hollywood has proved this gradually over the years, but this year there’s been a real shift, and Spider-Man has taken that shift to the next level. It’s great for exhibitors and for audiences alike.”
Spider-Man Is A True Pan-India Hero!
Talking about the success of the film in tier-three cities, Shony Pankikaran walked us through the phenomenon – “It did exceed expectations. We knew tier-one and tier-two markets would respond well because Spider-Man has always worked there, but the response from tier-three towns went beyond what we imagined. I genuinely believe Spider-Man is a true pan-India hero – Tom Holland, at this point, has become bigger than almost anything else in the country.”
When prodded about the one misconception about the Indian theatrical market that has been busted by Spider-Man Brand New India, Shony Panjikaran immediately quips how we think the Hollywood market is inherently smaller! “Spider-Man has shown that a Hollywood film can perform like a full-blown Indian release. It worked brilliantly not just in Hindi, but in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam too, and across tier-one, tier-two, and tier-three towns alike. There’s really no ceiling for a film like this.”
He adds, “On a personal note, this has also been a learning for me on the marketing side, it’s not just about scale. We often ask for scale, action, and special effects, but without emotion, none of that works. Spider-Man has always had scale, but this campaign leaned into emotion. The “Bhool Gaye” campaign we did with the cricketers and Rishabh Shetty connected because the film itself is built around Peter Parker being forgotten by everyone he loves. That emotional core is what really resonates in our market.”
Diving Into The Marketing Of Spider-Man Brand New Day
Did Sony Pictures take a different route from the previous Spider-Man films? Shony explains what changed in the marketing strategy this time around. “On our end, we mounted this film at a scale we haven’t attempted before, the campaigns with the cricketers, the actor collaborations, and even a Haryanvi track called “Barsaat,” which helped us penetrate deeper into markets a Hollywood or even a Hindi film wouldn’t typically reach. That song is currently the number two track in India. When we saw the film, we knew it was among the best Spider-Man films made, and we wanted the marketing to match that quality.”
Why Do Indian Heroes Fail & Spider-Man Lives In India?
We asked a very straight question, and Shony Panjikaran also did not beat around the bush! He had a prompt reply – “He’s the most relatable superhero out there. He isn’t a billionaire or a god; he’s a middle-class person dealing with problems we all face. What he stands for – family, friendship, sacrifice, doing the right thing – is what really connects. It’s also a character that’s spanned generations: he was a hero when I was a kid, and today my own kids look up to Tom Holland the same way. No other superhero, in my personal opinion, has cracked that universality quite the way Spider-Man has.”
Where Will Spider-Man Brand New Day Finally Land?
Shony refuses to jinx the success of Spider-Man Brand New Day with a definitive final number in India, once the film calls for curtains! “Honestly, there’s no fixed number in my head right now; whatever we projected, the film has already surpassed. Before release, our internal target was around 400 crore net, which would have made it the highest-grossing box office film ever in that bracket. We’ve blown past that. Right now, honestly, the sky is the limit!”
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