After a dismal second quarter, exhibitors are counting on the October-December period, which has so far seen the family audience coming back to theatres in large numbers.
An increase in footfall, driven by the family audience, will lead to a stronger recovery in the coming quarter, said exhibitors.
“Our first quarter of FY23 was bigger than Q1 of FY19 because of better response from family audience for films like KGF 2, RRR, Gangubai Kathiawadi. While Q2 was not good, business in Q3 and Q4 will be on par with FY19 on a QoQ (quarter-on-quarter) basis," INOX Leisure's Chief Programming Officer, Rajender Singh Jyala, told Moneycontrol.
He said that recent releases, including Uunchai, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Anupam Kher, as well as Ajay Devgn's Drishyam 2, have been drawing in more family viewers.
“Uunchai got more of a family audience as the majority of the audience was over the 40-50 age group and after a long time we have seen senior citizens coming to theatres. Even with Drishyam 2 we are seeing more families making a comeback to theatres," said Jyala.
New releases drawing families
PVR Pictures CEO Kamal Gianchandani expects occupancy to be at the same levels in Q3 as Q1. While PVR had reported occupancy of 33.6 percent in Q1, INOX had recorded occupancy of 29 percent. “Uunchai should get the credit for turning the tide and bringing families back to theatres. While the film was a tightly managed release, it brought a lot of the family audience to theatres and also created momentum for Drishyam 2," Gianchandani added. Unnchai had a limited release and opened in 480 screens.
According to film trade experts, family audiences account for 35 percent of overall footfall in cinemas.
An exhibitor from Uttar Pradesh (UP) said the kind of enquiries Uunchai saw were last seen for the film 83. Uunchai, which released on November 11, has so far earned over Rs 15 crore and is expected to do a lifetime business of Rs 30 crore. The film is directed by Sooraj Barjatya under the Rajshri Productions banner, which is known for movies like Maine Pyar Kiya and Hum Aapke Hain Koun. Barjatya whose last film was 2015 release Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, has made a comeback after around eight years, with Uunchai.
"Uunchai is becoming the ‘60+ Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’, the 2011 hit movie where three childhood friends follow their dream. We have dedicated Monday as a ‘Senior Citizen’ focused day as post the pandemic we have seen this group staying away from watching movies. This was never the case before the pandemic. Now, we see cars coming packed with friends belonging to this age group bringing their family along,” said Gautam Dutta, CEO, PVR Limited.
PVR said that out of the total audience coming to watch Uunchai and Drishyam 2, 70-80 percent are families. Drishyam 2 recorded occupancy in the range of 60-70 percent over the weekend, said PVR Pictures’ Gianchandani. The film released on November 18 and so far is estimated to have earned Rs 74 crore. It is likely to touch Rs 100 crore in the first week of its run.
“Drishyam 2 is attracting women and children, which is not seen nowadays. Also, it is the family audience which has the potential to turn a film into a blockbuster as more traction from this segment results in a longer run for a film, unlike a four-five day run, when films depend on just the youth audience,” the exhibitor from UP said.
Cinemas prefer family viewing as these groups mean transactions of four to five tickets on an average, said film producer and trade business analyst Girish Johar.
Family audiences also translate to bigger F&B sales. Gianchandani noted that families spend more on food and beverages as they don't come to theatres often. “Families come to theatres 3-4 times a year and they try to enjoy to the fullest whereas youth come to cinemas 8-10 times a year. So spends of families on F&B are much higher.”
However, Nitin Menon of NV Capital said that it is too early to say that families are back to theatres.
The exhibitor from UP agreed, saying: "While it is a good sign, this segment of the audience comes to theatres only for good content. So, consistency in content will be key if this audience is to keep coming to theatres.”
Q3 expectations
Exhibitors are betting big on upcoming releases, including Ranveer Singh's Cirkus and Hollywood venture Avatar 2 both releasing this December.
INOX's Jyala expects overall box office numbers to be at a similar level as Q1 FY23. The net box office collection (NBOC) for Bollywood and Hollywood stood at Rs 1,130 crore during the June quarter.
"...the lineup in December includes Avatar 2, dubbed in multiple languages, and expected to do an NBOC of Rs 40-50 crore on day one. So, Q3 will be aggressive on an industry level. Also, Hindi films have started to fire up with Uunchai and Drishyam 2. So, next financial year will be the best the industry has seen," said Gianchandani.
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