'Slumdog Millionaire' gets record start in US

New York, Nov 17 (IANS) 'Slumdog Millionaire', a film about an Indian game show starring Anil Kapoor and Dev Patel, released in the US this week and registered the highest average of any movie during the first weekend.

Fox Searchlight's 'Slumdog Millionaire' grossed $418,000 since it opened Nov 12 in 10 theatres in six cities -- New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, Chicago and Toronto.

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The weekend gross was $350,434, with per-theatre average of $35,043. This is the highest average gross by far for any film at the box office.

Following an overwhelming response, a company release said that the film would this week expand to 32 theatres from 10. This includes its release in 10 more cities - Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle and Vancouver.

Based on the novel 'Q&A' by Vikas Swarup, an Indian diplomat, the movie is set in Mumbai and made by British director Danny Boyle. It is the story of Jamal Malik (Dev Patel), an 18-year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is about to experience the biggest day of his life.

With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering Rs.20 million on India's 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?' show.

But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating; how could a street kid know so much? Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up, of their adventures together on the road, of vicious encounters with local gangs, and of Latika (Freida Pinto), the girl he loved and lost. Each chapter of his story reveals the key to the answer to one of the game show's questions.

The film has received some rave reviews in the US media. It was the winner of the 2008 Toronto Film Festival People's Choice Award.