MUMBAI: Multiplexes across India are gearing for the release of James Cameron’s Avatar, the epic action adventure film, which has been made on a budget of Rs 12 billion (Rs 1200 crores).

While Avatar will be released in 2D as well as 3D formats, theatre owners are particularly expecting a huge demand for the 3D version since 3D Hollywood films like Ice Age 3 and Final Destination have done decent business in India in the past. 

3D screens in India have seen a rise over the last few months in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad as well as smaller centers like Coimbatore, Amritsar, Kerala, Jaipur and Ahmedabad.

Fame Cinemas AVP distribution, programming and corporate sales Aditya Shroff said, "I believe that the 3D version of Avatar is going to be the revolutionary movie for this generation and hence Fame is trying to go as wide as possible with the 3D release. Avatar will do to 3D what Reliance did to mobile phone usage in India."

While most multiplexes in Pune and Bangalore are going 3D, single screens like Central Plaza in Mumbai and Urvasi in Bangalore are also going 3D before the release of Avatar. Cinemax in Andheri (Mumbai) has updated its biggest auditorium that has the capacity of 377 with 3D facility for Avatar. Inox will have 3D screens in Pune, Baroda, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Nagpur, Raipur, Rajasthan, Indore, and Kolkata before the release of Avatar.

Fox Star Studios CEO India Vijay Singh said, "There is an incredible buzz building up for Avatar across the India media, our theatrical partners and the core audiences. The dramatic increase in the no. of 3D screens, as well as the strong interest that we are getting from the Hindi, Tamil and Telegu language markets reaffirms the strong buzz for the film."

Scrabble Entertainment CEO Ranjit Thakur added, "The demand for 2K Digital and 3D systems is from all corners of the county. Even the single screen exhibitors want to capitalize on the opportunity of screening Avatar in 3D. The demand for the film has created a worldwide shortage of digital equipment and even silver screens for 3D are hard to get."

Avatar releases worldwide on 18 December in 2D and 3D. In India, the film will also be dubbed in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.