Exhibitors unsure about staggered opening of theatres, say they are ready to wait

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The government is considering letting malls and cinemas remain open at night in green zones. A final decision is awaited after the health ministry approves such a move.

While for mall owners in green zones, the idea of remaining open at night is lucrative, for cinema owners it is not a viable option.

“I am not sure if it is viable for most exhibitors. To run just a few shows at night, which would still be under some form of social distancing, all exhibitors would need to carry out a cost analysis before opening, said Rahul Puri, MD, Mukta A2 Cinemas, a cinema chain by Mukta Arts, a company founded by veteran filmmaker Subhash Ghai.

"Those who have fixed leases might find it a challenge. However, those who are on some form of revenue share or own their property may consider it if they can cut down on staff and operating costs,” Puri added.

But even those who own the property are unsure about opening theatres in such a way.

Vishnu who owns Kasi Talkies in Chennai said meeting expenses will be difficult “if we open theatres at night only in green zones. There will be footfalls, but it will not be sufficient to run theatres. For a 1,000-seater cinema hall, if only 50 to 100 people turn up that is not going to help me. Not even 50 percent occupancy will be achieved,” he said.

While the sale of tickets will be limited, he explained that the cost of running the theatre from electricity bills to staff cost will be an added burden.

"When we open theatres in a staggered way, we will have to look at supply chain management, sanitisation processes, training of staff and even reducing staff to make the economics more viable,” Puri said.

“We need to remember that a lot of theatres in these green zones were not running brilliantly before the lockdown either, so lifting some restrictions may not mean that that business will be smooth," he pointed out.

For theatres to resume business, Amit Sharma, MD, Miraj Cinemas, suggested that a cap be placed on capacity in theatres depending on zones. “If for example we open in July, we can limit capacity to 33 percent in red zones, 50 percent in orange zones and 75-100 percent in green zones. But you have to open it together across India. Green zones are in Tier III and IV cities of different states, so what kind of content will you play if you open only in green zones,” he enquired.

All this tells us that exhibitors are not sure about staggered opening and are ready to wait.

Also, Akshaye Rathi, film exhibitor/ director, Saroj Screens Pvt, said for theatres, only compelling content will bring audiences back to cinema halls.

According to Vishnu, producers will not release films if theatres open at a certain time in certain areas.

“People do not come to cinema halls to check out the property. They come for content. The filmmakers will have to look at exploring the theatrical avenue in that way," Rathi added.

“Hindi cinema producers will not want to release films in a piecemeal manner. This will mean that there will be a lag between theatres opening and content being available," Puri weighed in.

As for profit and loss and getting back footfalls, Rathi said “we have to invest a month or so whenever theatres open to rebuild people's trust. Once audience start showing confidence even filmmakers will become resilient.”