IMAX Corporation announced that Arka Mediaworks’ Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, which was directed by S.S. Rajamouli, grossed approximately $2.3 million during its opening weekend in 66 select IMAX theatres across India, North America, Australia, the Middle East and Africa. In India, the film grossed $334,000 from 10 IMAX theatres – making it the highest-grossing IMAX opening weekend ever in the market.
The film also had a strong performance in its limited run at the North American box office this weekend – with IMAX generating approximately $1.8 million from 45 IMAX theatres for a robust $40,000 per-screen-average. This marks IMAX’s biggest domestic opening of a foreign language film.
“We congratulate visionary director S.S. Rajamouli, Arka Mediaworks and the entire Baahubali team for creating a truly epic film that has not only broken IMAX records in India, but has clearly resonated with IMAX audiences worldwide- including a phenomenal performance in its limited North American run,” said Greg Foster, CEO of IMAX Entertainment and Senior Executive Vice President, IMAX Corp. “Today’s results are a clear indication that our local-language release and gap filling strategies are working and we look forward to continuing to partner with leading filmmakers like S.S. Rajamouli to bring the best in Indian cinema to moviegoers around the globe.”
“Both the Baahubali movies are designed to be a larger than life experience and IMAX further enhances that experience,” said the film’s Producer, Shobu Yarlagadda. “We are glad that our audience is loving the IMAX version and that the IMAX version is doing extremely well at the box office in its limited release.”
Baahubali 2: The Conclusion marks the third Indian local-language production to be released in IMAX, including the previous record-breaking 2013 local-language release DHOOM 3.
The IMAX release of Baahubali 2: The Conclusion was digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience with proprietary IMAX DMR (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The crystal-clear images, coupled with IMAX’s customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio, create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.