Director James Cameron’s upcoming marvel, Avatar: Fire and Ash, is making the right noise. The film, scheduled to premiere on December 19, will be released in 6 languages, including English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.

Reports indicate that more than 1.2 million fans have already shown interest in advance booking, surpassing a majority of Bollywood releases. The BookMyShow window opened on December 5.

Stats indicate that Avatar: Fire and Ash has sold over 7.54K tickets in the first 24 hours. While the early morning shows fall under the price bracket of Rs 450-700, the premium night slots in Delhi/Mumbai IMAX cost Rs 2,400, making it one of India’s costliest Hollywood pre-sales.

According to trade experts, the film might enjoy an opening day collection of Rs 30-40 crore, becoming the first Hollywood film to cross the Rs 500-crore mark, surpassing Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame. Avatar’s second instalment, Way of Water, grossed nearly Rs 500 crore in India.

Interestingly, Avatar: Fire and Ash comes in an intense face-off with several Bollywood and South Indian movies. With this being said, the question that remains is, ‘Who is going to win the December box office game?’

What piqued the interest of the Indian audience was the fact that promos of Avatar: Fire and Ash played across theatres during The Way of Water’s re-release on October 2. Now, Hindi trailers of the third part featuring dubbed dialogues are aiming for a broader appeal.

Among the Bollywood films set for release this December, the Ranveer Singh-led spy action thriller Dhurandhar has topped the charts. Other movies releasing this month are Mere Raho, Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon 2, Durlabh Prasad Ki Doosri Shadi, and Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri.

The South Indian film slate is also full of interesting releases. Some of them are Mysaa, MR. Bhaarath, Sardar 2, KH 233, as well as multiple Tamil films.

Besides Dhurandhar, Avatar: Fire and Ash is expected to be a top contender for the highest-grossing film of December this year. Another anticipated Bollywood movie is Kartik Aaryan and Ananya Panday’s Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri.

Avatar: Fire and Ash’s cast includes Kate Winslet, Zoe Saldaña, Stephen Lang, Oona Chaplin, Sigourney Weaver, Sam Worthington, Edie Falco and Giovanni Ribisi, to name a few.