Dil Chahta hAI: From queue busting to chatbots, AI scripts a new show for theatres

Cinemas across the globe are turning to Artificial Intelligence (AI) to reinvent the moviegoing experience and the story is no different in India with the tech helping theatres streamline operations, personalise recommendations, and boost engagement.

Top multiplex chains in the country including PVR INOX and Miraj are seeing AI step into a lead role at cinemas as they bet big on this tech twist to deliver their next blockbuster performance, both on-screen and off.

For instance, PVR INOX is leveraging its chatbot called Movie Jockey for discovery, ticket booking and more.

AI joins the cast

"We have leveraged GenAI, where we have created two chatbots. One is a movie jockey which is a consumer oriented 24-7 AI powered WhatsApp chatbot. It is available in seven languages across India. It helps customers discover movies, book tickets, and can order food and beverages (F&B) in real time, check show timings, as well as redeem vouchers. It was launched last November in association with Jio Haptik and Meta India," Aamer Bijli, Lead Specialist, Innovation, Film Marketing & Digital Programming, PVR INOX, told Moneycontrol.

He added, "Our journey with AI has been quite extensive because we have taken a lot of time to understand the difference between fads and things that are actually sustainable for us in the long run. There are a lot of different processes within the cinema ecosystem, which are internal processes and consumer facing processes. So we have taken a very holistic approach to identify which process we can target to create a smarter, faster and more personalized experience, both for employees as well as our guests."

The cinema chain is also removing doors at entry points and replacing them with AI video analytics for seamless entry and exit zones. "We have removed doors which let someone to enter the cinema. But we maintain frisking. This helps us to keep a very good track on occupancies which help us understand where the friction points in the cinema are as well as help us understand what the consumer habits are at the concessions, what age demographics are buying what particular food and beverage, tracking employee productivity, kiosk usage, lounge visits, among other things."

Box Office gets smarter

Sameer Munshi, VP operations, Miraj Entertainment, pointed out that they use their own API (Application Programming Interface) at the concession point, which is named as POP EXPRESS.

He added that AI helps them capture food and beverage ordering data which helps them to recommend, send notification of the same product order to customers during their next visit.

Other ways Miraj is using AI includes personalized recommendations. "Our booking platforms use AI-driven recommendation engines to suggest films and offers that are most relevant to individual customers. AI powered ticket sales at the box office can analyze customer preferences and offer tailored movie recommendations for their next visit."

They are also using dynamic pricing to make sure that with the help of AI they optimize ticket prices based on demand. "If a movie is performing extraordinarily then AI increases the pricing of that particular movie and shows if the occupancy reaches the threshold."

AI is also helping Miraj control costs through inventory management and energy efficient systems, Munshi added.

However, he said that AI has still not reached its peak in India's exhibition space. "But it can change the customer experience from predictive analytics to dynamic pricing models and smarter marketing outreach. Programming powered by AI can ensure that regional and niche content reaches the right audiences in specific markets."

A global hit

Globally, UK-based cinema chain Vue is already seeing their AI model helping them target audiences for whom English is not their first language.

Their AI model has more than 10 years of granular level data even differentiating whether the F&B spends are by a family or an adult.

The company's CEO Tim Richards last year in an interview to an international publication had said that they started to see a return on investment six or seven years ago with AI helping them to play 50 percent more movies than their competitors and also let them to play 46 percent of all the movies they show in foreign language.

AI is also helping them to target specific language audiences like the Asian or Turkish community with relevant programming which helps them increase occupancy from 22 percent to as high as 80 percent.

Bijli pointed out that cinema chains have had success with AI because of launching their own AI tools.

"What globally people have done, such as Vue Cinemas, is that they have launched their own AI tool for programming and that has proven really successful for them because it has reduced a lot of friction points for the consumer. Using a lot of data history, they have managed to accurately portray a correct view of when consumers actually want movies to be shown."

Other international cinema chains like AMC Theatres use AI to suggest films based on past viewing habits to increase ticket sales.

For unsold inventory, the dynamic pricing is helping theatre chains like Regal Cinemas to adjust ticket prices based on demand, helping them to improve occupancy.

In addition, theatres are also using AI to gauge audience reactions while a movie is playing on the big screen to tailor future movie selections and marketing strategies.