Bollywood may be having a late golden run at the box office (BO) with Raju Hirani?s 3 Idiots, but 2009 clearly belonged to Hollywood in India. At least two films ? James Cameron?s epic action adventure Avatar (20th Century Fox) and Sony Pictures? disaster flick 2012 ? grossed over Rs 150 crore at the box office, surpassing most Hindi releases in 2009.

With Bollywood having a poor run at the BO (only Love Aaj Kal and 3 Idiots passed the Rs 50-crore mark) due to a variety of reasons, including poor content, even a small-budget film like Warner?s Hangover did good business in India, grossing about Rs 10 crore. ?It released with only 45 prints and so the returns were a bonus,? says an analyst.

Sony Pictures? 2012, which released on November 13, crossed the Rs 90-crore mark in India in six weeks, becoming the highest-grossing Hollywood film ever in India.

Spiderman 3, also from Sony Pictures, had grossed Rs 68.07 crore in 2007.

If Cameron?s Avatar crossed the $1-billion mark at the worldwide box office three weekends into its release, it didn?t do too badly in India either. Still running to full houses in many territories, Avatar has collected Rs 67 crore, making it the second-biggest Hollywood film ever in India after 2012. For Fox, Avatar is now also the biggest-ever film in India after Titanic, which had collected Rs 55 crore.

Vijay Singh, CEO, Fox Star Studios India, is happy with how things turned out in 2009 despite being a meltdown year. ?It has been a year of celebration as the studio has reached new heights with its super hits. We promise you an even more entertaining 2010, beginning with My Name is Khan,? he says. Fox Star Studios India has tied up with Karan Johar?s Dharma Productions to distribute My Name is Khan.

?The numbers are still small, but Hollywood is slowly changing the way it does business in India,? says Smita Jha, associate director, PwC. First, it?s giving films a wider release. For instance, 2012 had its widest release ever for a Hollywood film with a total count of 766 prints in play in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. As per analysts, the studio also built up the promotions of 2012 nicely, ensuring people flocked to the multiplexes. ?In its opening weekend, thanks to over 90% occupancy figures in all centres, gross box office figures were second only to Spiderman 3, despite the film not being part of a known franchise,? they added.

?Hollywood films are now being dubbed into several languages. So their investments have gone up, but this year they saw returns too,? adds Jha. But just dubbing or subtitling won?t be enough to get the numbers; Hollywood studios will have to combine it with local marketing and promotions, point out other analysts.

Kercy Daruwala, MD, Sony Pictures India, says, ?Our approach to marketing and distributing 2012 was to engage all sections of the audience ? multiplex as well as single screen, metros as well as small towns ? much like any large-scale Indian film.? For Sony, this approach appears to have paid off, for they managed to bring in audiences who may not generally watch Hollywood films. ?2012 has indisputably changed the face of the movie business in India and made Hollywood films a force to reckon with, setting a benchmark in the industry. It will undoubtedly be among the top films of the year in India, in any language,? Daruwala adds.

For the past three years, franchise films like Harry Potter or Spiderman or even James Bond have done well in India and Hollywood studios have increased the number of prints and released films dubbed in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. For instance, Warner?s Harry Potter and Half Blood Prince released with 330 prints last year and grossed Rs 25 crore.

Most Hollywood films now release in India on the same day as in the US. Fox Star Studios India began 2009 with Baz Luhrman?s Australia and Danny Boyle?s Slumdog Millionaire, which did muted business in India, though the Hindi Crorepati outscored the English one at the BO. Ice Age 3 released in 3D and grossed Rs 9 crore. In 2010, it has lined up Amelia, Date Night, Wall Street 2, Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel and the Chronicles of Narnia 3. From the Warner stable, too, there are big releases, including Guy Ritchie?s Sherlock Holmes and the two-part Harry Potter films.

Still, analysts agree that the Hollywood market in India is at a nascent stage, with most films grossing under Rs 10 crore and the top three studios releasing 30-odd films in all, but they point out that the potential for growth is huge.

Says Bhavesh Thakkar, director, marketing, Sony Pictures India, ?In terms of box office collections, the amount is still not very significant due to lower-priced tickets in this market, but in terms of admissions, films like 2012 have a huge market. The success of 2012 in both India and China are making people take notice of the potential of these markets in the movie business as well, despite strong competition from local film makers.?

While Sony?s 2012 grossed Rs 90 crore, both Terminator Salvation and Angels & Demons earned over Rs 10 crore; Michael Jackson?s This is It, which had a limited edition release for 16 days only, grossed Rs 4.12 crore and was released with 173 prints, only in English.

Ask the players if they will dub in other languages too and they quip that Hindi, Tamil and Telugu cover all the major territories of India. Still, Sony did dub Spiderman 3 in Bhojpuri. Thakkar says when Gandhi was released in 1982, it was dubbed in six languages. ?That was the first dubbed Hollywood film in India, but, of course, it was more a matter of nationalist pride,? he adds.

For 2010, Sony has lined up several films ?that look promising as potential franchises?.

There?s The Karate Kid, which is back with Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith (Will Smith?s son); SALT starring Angelina Jolie as a female Bond and The Green Hornet based on a comic series, besides a host of others, including Julia Roberts? Eat, Pray, Love shot in India.

Most Hollywood studios are also producing Hindi films to get the widest possible presence in this market. While Warner?s Chandni Chowk to China and Sony?s Saawariya didn?t do well at the box-office, foreign studios are keen on making their presence felt in the Hindi film industry, say analysts.

Bollywood is also reaching out to Hollywood. The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group has already infused an initial $825 million into one of Hollywood?s biggest, but funds-strapped studios, DreamWorks, whose co-founder and partner is Steven Spielberg. The new motion picture company, formed by Reliance BIG Entertainment and DreamWorks, will produce five-six films a year. But that?s yet another story.