'The Amazing Spider-Man' Gets Widest-Ever India Release for A Hollywood Film

MUMBAI -  The Amazing Spider-Man will be released in India Friday - ahead of its July 3 U.S. opening - with more than 1,000 prints, considered a new high for any Hollywood film in India, according to Sony Pictures India.

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The film will be rolled out here in 3D, 2D and Imax formats and in four languages – English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

Spider-Man also has an India connection as it features Indian actor Irrfan Khan (Slumdog Millionaire) in a cameo as Dr Rajit Ratha, a close associate of Dr. Curt Connors aka The Lizard played by Rhys Ifans.
 
“The Amazing Spider-Man is fittingly our biggest release ever in the country. The fact that Spider-Man is the most consistently successful movie franchise in India combined with an increased audience in dubbed versions, growth of 3D, the pre-U.S. release date and a local connect in the film, has led to record demand for prints,” said Sony Pictures India managing director Kercy Daruwala.

By comparison, the previous installment - 2007's Spider-Man 3 - opened in India with 588 prints.

Meanwhile, the Motion Picture Distribution Association (MPDA) - the India office of the Motion Picture Association (MPA) - has also beefed up anti-piracy measures for the film's release.

 “With every big film release comes the threat of content theft through camcording in cinemas and movie downloads through illegal web sites,” said MPDA India managing director Uday Singh. "We have chalked out a strong enforcement action plan to keep camcording pirates at bay and urge movie-loving audiences to watch The Amazing Spider-Man at the nearest theatre."