Hollywood movies are gradually gaining grounds in India and international movie distributors are now listing India among the chief global markets in the world. Of late, many Hollywood movies have made their mark on the Indian box-office, even beating the in-house industry to pulp in the process. Avatar and 2012 literally crushed the entire Indian film industry and action movies featuring popular actors have always found takers here. Superhero movies and animated features have also proved to be winners due to their popularity among kids and Gen X.

But none of that explains the fantastic opening that Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi action thriller Inception has received in the country. Leaving domestic releases like Lamhaa, Udaan and Tere Bin Laden in the dust, the Hollywood challenger went on to take a successful opening in India with 75-80% attendance in multiplexes. The Bollywood trio, though backed by positive reviews have had a dull start and may have to toil twice as hard to survive the weekend and stay on for enough days to recover their costs.

The outstanding crowd response to Inception can be credited to the reverence that the director’s previous movie The Dark Knight earned worldwide, back in 2008. TDK was a smash hit earning more than $1 billion in its entire run and was well-received due to its directorial brilliance. The ensemble cast of Inception which includes capable actors like Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger and Michael Caine has also created interest among viewers. The thrilling promos which offered a movie experience along the lines of 1999’s sci-fi flick The Matrix with loads of action and thrills were also instrumental in the opening day attendance.

In the US, the estimated first day collection was $21 million and the three day opening weekend is expected to gross $70-80 million.