MUMBAI: The paid previews of Warner Bros’ The Hangover 2 has seen a great response at the box office in India.

According to Warner Bros India, the paid previews of the movie have been flying off the ticket windows for the Thursday evening shows. The movie will be released across India in English with as many as 160 – 170 prints on Friday.

Speaking exclusively to Businessofcinema.com, Warner Bros India deputy managing director – theatrical Denzil Dias said, "The initial reports that have come in of the paid previews is phenomenal. The response across India has been great specially in cities like Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Delhi and Bangalore. We are expecting the weekend gross box office of The Hangover 2 to match the entire gross collections of Hangover in India."

As per initial reports with Businessofcinema.com, occupancy across Indian cities for The Hangover 2’s paid previews is as follows:

Mumbai
PVR Juhu – one show sold out in advance; opening one more night show
PVR Phoenix – 65% sold out and is expected to go full by evening
Inox Nariman Point – 70% sold out

Hyderabad
Prasad – 100% sold out

Chennai
Inox – 100% sold out
Satyam – 100% sold out

Kolkatta
65% sold out; expected to touch 85%. The movie has opened across more screens in the city.

Delhi
Saket & Vasant Kunj – 60% sold out; expected to touch 90% by show time. There are as many as 3 – 4 shows of paid previews being held.

Pune
E Square Cinema – 100%
Inox – 70% sold out; expected to go full by evening

Bangalore
77% sold out so far
Single screen Urvashi, 560 seats sold out out of occupancy of 1100 seats

Dias adds, "Usually, the trend of advance booking is rarely seen for English movies. However, there is a lot of anticipation for The Hangover 2 and we’ve seen tickets being sold out in no time for the paid previews. The weekend is also looking very promising. We’re told that people are booking tickets in groups of 5 – 10 to watch the movie instead of twos, which is a great trend."