Call it Tumbbad's resounding success when it was released again in cinemas or the love for Shah Rukh Khan that poured in again when Kal Ho Na Ho played again in theatres, reruns were a sleeper hit last year and PVR Inox is banking on them this year as well to bring in more footfalls.
Footfalls in cinemas at 88.3 crore saw the biggest drop last year, excluding the pandemic years when the theatre business was hard in 2020 and 2021. Last year, footfalls were down by 6 percent from 94.3 crore in 2023, falling below the 2022 level of 89.2 crore.
India's top multiplex chain is taking it one step further by letting audiences customise shows of old classics. How they are doing it you may ask, it is through a new feature on their app called ScreenIT.
"There is a big demand for old titles or re-release of titles. But it doesn't have to be too old. Films could also be blockbusters that were released last year or six months back. ScreenIT is a mechanism that gives control to the audience of which location they want to see the movie, at what time, with whom and what movie to watch from a library of over 500 titles and counting rapidly up to probably a thousand in the next few weeks and months, " said Renaud Palliere, CEO of The Luxury Collection and Innovation at PVR Inox Limited.
He said with the new feature the controls are changing. "Right now we, as a cinema company, give you a schedule of films you can choose from and a bouquet of films you can choose from in a number of cinemas that are being shown and within certain predefined showtimes. Now we turn that around, and we give you the controls over all that."
Curated shows
ScreenIT is a new feature on the PVR Inox app where users can create from the available catalogue or join an already created show. From Amitabh Bachchan's Kabhie Kabhie to Raj Kapoor and Nargis-starrer Chori Chori, movie-goers can pick the movie they want to re-release in theatres and not wait for producers or exhibitors to run old content.
To create a show, a user has to book two tickets and wait for more bookings - at least 10 percent of the theatre capacity for the show to go live. For example, if an auditorium has a capacity of 80 people then for a ScreenIT show to be confirmed at least eight people need to book tickets within five days since the show was created. All created shows are visible in the ScreenIT tab. If a show fails to meet the minimum threshold of people, the show will stand cancelled. But users have the option of promoting their created show of reruns by sending links through social media channels and earn 5 percent when the link is used to book tickets by other users. When the earnings via promotions reach Rs 1,000, users can redeem the cash and deposit it in their bank accounts.
But what is the cost of creating such shows? The same one pays for any movie show, Palliere said.
"Pricing is the same as applicable to the current movies or re-released movies. There would be no premium to it. It all depends on the cinema--- whether it is a premium cinema or a mainstream cinema or if it's a weekend or a weekday. The plan has been rolled out in over 50 cities across 120 cinemas," he added.
But will there be any clash in programming especially when a new movie releases. "We will dynamically control the scheduling so that there's no clash in terms of programming. No one show slot can be booked by two people to create new shows and shows that do not meet the requirement are removed to make the slots available to other users," he said.
Cashing in on classics
PVR Inox is cashing in on audiences' love for old releases which were not just gap fillers last year but actually moved the needle in terms of footfalls and business. Re-releases contributed 1-2 percent to the total box office of 2024.
Old content re-released in cinemas drove traffic for India's top multiplex chains in 2024 up to 3-5 percent in a never-seen-before phenomenon. For PVR Inox, re-releases accounted for around 5 percent of the total footfalls last year. During the September quarter of FY25, old films roughly contributed 6 percent of total admissions and 3.5 percent of collections for PVR Inox. Almost 13 percent of admissions in September came from older releases for the multiplex chain.
Some of the most successful re-releases last year included horror-flick Tumbbad, Ranbir Kapoor's Rockstar and Laila Majnu, among others. Tumbbad recorded a gross box office collection (GBOC) of Rs 37.8 crore, while Rockstar garnered Rs 10.5 crore. Laila Majnu registered a GBOC of Rs 9.5 crore.
In some instances, reruns outperformed new releases. Last year re-released Kal Ho Naa Ho had pulled off better occupancy rates compared to Gladiator 2, despite being screened in fewer shows.
Palliere expects admissions to go up as ScreenIT picks up. "We will see an impact on footfalls. If you get more admissions and ticket sales increase, your food and beverage sales, by virtue of getting more people in the auditoriums, also increase," he added.
In 2025 as well, reruns are continuing their winning streak. While new releases like Azaad and Kangana Ranuat's Emergency have not done any wonders at the box office, 2013 film Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani which was the first Friday release of this year with Rs 1.15 crore on day one came close to the opening day collections of last year's blockbuster re-release Tumbbad which had earned Rs 1.65 crore.
Even Hollywood is banking on re-release with Interstellar, a 2014 release which will hit theatres once again on February 7, marking its 10th anniversary. English films recorded a poor performance in 2024 when their share in the India box office fell by a percent with box office collections to the tune of Rs 941 crore, down from Rs 1,139 crore in 2023. The buzz is strong for Interstellar with 50,000 tickets sold in advance booking.
Coldplay, concerts and more
Along with reruns, PVR Inox is also betting big on alternate content with new movies failing to make much difference at the box office in the beginning of 2025. Even the promotional offer of movies at Rs 99 on January 17 celebrated as Cinema Lovers' Day, an initiative started in the aftermath of the pandemic, did not help in building traction for the new releases Azaad and Emergency.
The company had reported losses for two straight quarters in FY25 due to lack of releases and Bollywood underperforming.
The multiplex chain recently added Candlelight concerts to its alternate content portfolio. It also plans to bring Coldplay in its cinemas.
"There's so much opportunity and options content-wise. There'll be further announcements soon with more new experiences in lobbies as well. Gaming will be a big one on the agenda," Palliere said.
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