Heres some more surprising news for you. 2012 had a wide release in India and guess what.. its having 90%+ occupancies in most of the theatres. Its opening is even better than the other Bollywood biggie which released along with it.

Another movie news, It seems that Filipinos are really into action movies and don't care about Oscar movies at all. Our no.2 grossing movie of all time is Transformers 2, just saw 2012 earlier and guess what…Jam-packed! Everyone is having a standing ovation (literally), and the theater we have has never had so many people in it!

Precious should be put in a wide release.

@Athar: Is this at the new cineplex's or the countries myriad community theaters which only charge a few rupees? Or am I understanding the Indian theatre situation correctly?

On a humorous note, I predicted $62 million for 2012, but commenter Raichu came over the top and predicted 62.5! I'm sure he came by his numbers independently, but I feel a little like I'm on the Price Is Right and someone bid $1 over my bid. LOL

I'm now thinking 2012's open weekend as $70 million+.

This logic comes from the movie more available to younger audiences who would otherwise be stuck in schools/colleges on Fridays.

@mfan: Since the Multiplex era began here about 4-5 years back, the single screen theatres, the once which charge very few bucks, used to show only Bollywood movies while Hollywood movies were only shown in Multiplexes. The same is not the case though if the movie has a big fan following(Spiderman series, Bond series and now even the X-Men and Ice Age movies) or if the movie is big in size (2012 and i am sure even Avatar). 2012 was very well promoted here. And the good promotion was backed up with a wide release strategy. And from what i have seen and heard, its worked. In Mumbai, where i stay, most of the shows at all the single screens as well as multiplexes were full for the weekend. I havent seen the exact figures yet, but it is definitely amongst the Top 5 Hollywood openers in India.

And this is just the beginning. I read an article in the local newspaper which said that a few Bollywood producers are pushing ahead their movies from December because they do no want to clash with James Cameron's Avatar. Titanic had a very long and successful run in the Indian theaters when it released 10 years back. The same is expected from Avatar. This is one movie which would definitely be one of the highest grossing Hollywood movies in India.

Brad I wanted to comment on your reviews of Precious and An Education, but I guess we can’t comment on reviews anymore.

SPOILERS

I think that people who are calling Precious “Poverty Porn” really don’t know what this film is about. It’s not really about poverty or minorities living in the inner cities or even race. It’s about abuse and learning to accept oneself. It’s not perfect, it has its clichés, Precious’s situation was a bit extreme and the direction was a bit off at times, but overall I thought it was a decent film. While, I thought Gabourey and Monique did a great job, I found myself enjoying the classroom scenes more. The worry by some is that people will think that this is the life of most Blacks living in poverty and I would hope people aren’t that stupid. As I said before the film isn’t really about race. I’d give it a B+

An Education I didn’t quite like it as much as you did. I thought that Carey was great in it and Dominic Cooper surprised me, but I felt that it was lacking. I was suspicious of Peter’s character right away (I don’t know if it was his acting or the script) it would’ve been a bigger blow if I’d believe that he was sincere. The ending montage of her working hard that extra year and the fake letter scene was clichéd and predictable. I also felt like Jenny’s questions about an education went unanswered. I did like Rosamund Pike she was very funny. I also wish the relationship between Dominic’s character and Jenny’s was explored a bit more. Aside from that I thought it was okay the ending could’ve been done a bit differently then maybe I would’ve liked it more. I do find myself thinking about the film a lot. I’d give this one a B-

So far the best film of the year for me is still The Hurt Locker.

@beautifulm: You said, "I would hope people aren’t that stupid…" and hope all we want, I am afraid a lot of people probably are that stupid because the film isn't about race specifically, but I think it does play a role.

As for your comments on An Education, you are like many people that aren't huge fans of the ending, and while it isn't a knock out I certainly don't think it hurts the film.

By the way, not sure why you think you can't comment on reviews any longer, both those reviews have comment sections here and here.

@Brad Brevet:

I just clicked on your reviews and didn't see the comment sections maybe I overlooked them. lol.

Its official now. 2012 has shattered all opening records for foreign films in India. The movie is on course to be the highest grossing hollywood release in India.