Piscine Molitor Patel and Richard Parker have roared ahead of Edward Cullen and Bella Swan with Life of Pi routing Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 at the city box office.

Based on Yann Martel’s 2001 bestseller, Ang Lee’s fantasy tale of a young Indian boy stranded on a boat with a Royal Bengal Tiger, drew 9,000 patrons in Week One, with the Twilight finale based on the Stephenie Meyer series only managing 4,000, at Fame (South City). “Life of Pi had the maximum number of takers, followed by Jab Tak Hai Jaan. Twilight came a distant third,” said a Fame official, of the Pi-hard vs Twi-hard showdown.

No wonder multiplexes have given Life of Pi a big bite of the box office in Week 2 despite the release of Talaash. “Word-of-mouth publicity has led to growing collections every day,” said Mahendra Soni of Shree Venkatesh Films, the regional distributors of Life of Pi. “It did great business in the first weekend and recorded houseful shows during the week,” said Subhasis Ganguli of INOX.

The visually-splendid film, starring Irrfan Khan, Tabu and Suraj Sharma, has worked on various levels for children and their parents alike. “Viewer feedback is that the photography and the strong Indian context have struck a chord,” added Ganguli of INOX.

“I loved the 3D and the twist at the end. But it is the tiger that is the star of the film,” said fashion photographer Kaustav Saikia, who is gearing up for his second Life of Pi watch with his two kids.

In contrast, Twilight — though the first choice for most teen fans of the franchise — ran out of steam after the first weekend. “Being the last film in the series audience interest should have peaked, but this film had lesser footfalls than the previous one (Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1) that released last year,” said a multiplex official.

The word of mouth about Robsten’s concluding Twilight saga was not that hot and with their lovemaking scene snipped by prudish scissors for our screens, some Twi-hards were left cold and most Twi-neutrals steered clear.

Leaving the path clear for Pi and Richard Parker. “Life of Pi is a film with long legs and will bring in repeat viewers,” said Ganguli of INOX.

Why has Life of Pi done better than Twilight? Tell ttmetro@abpmail.com