After running into a rough patch with fewer releases and a consequent fall in occupancy, theatres have lined up discounts on movie tickets in a desperate bid to jack up sales.
Multiplexes and single screens have come together to offer movies at Rs 99 on May 31 which will be celebrated as the Cinema Lovers Day across top multiplex chains like PVR Inox, Cinepolis India, Miraj Cinemas, Multa A2, and MovieMax.
"It is a widespread initiative with a total of 4,000 screens where movie tickets will be available for Rs 99 each. However, premium formats like recliners are excluded but 90-95 percent of seats will be available for Rs 99. A lot of single screens will be participating, including those in South. Many single screens will be offering tickets lower than Rs 99 and it could go to as low as Rs 70," said Kamal Gianchandani, head of Multiplex Association of India (MAI) and CEO of PVR Inox Pictures.
He expects that such an offer will help launch the summer holiday season for theatres.
"It is just for a day and, so, it won't make a big difference (at box office) in the overall picture but it will give an impetus to the box office as we kick start the holiday season. It is a new holiday season for us with films jostling for dates starting June. A lot of clashes are expected as many producers did not release films in April and May (due to elections)," Gianchandani said.
"The supply will change dramatically as compared to the last two-three months with films like Kalki 2898 AD and Chandu Champion. From May 31, a new blood will be infused in the system as far as Hindi films are concerned. Q2 (FY25) will be stronger and the second half will be higher than the first half (in terms of box office)."
Gianchandani is also expecting higher occupancy across theatres on Cinema Lovers Day. "There are still a large number of families that find going to theatres inaccessible due to high ticket prices. Due to such initiatives, movies become accessible to large families. Also, this is peak summer season with kids on vacation, who look for outdoor activities but which can be in an air-conditioned environment (because of the hot weather conditions). We expect students to benefit from this offer and expect them to come in big numbers. We expect occupancy to go up to 70-80 percent with youth dominating footfalls at 50 percent and families at 25-30 percent," the MAI head said.
A similar initiative taken in 2022 had paid off with the National Cinema Day sales shooting past 6.5 million and movies like Brahmastra Part One: Shiva, Chup, Avatar, Dhokha: Round D Corner and Boyz 3 were screened in theatres that offered tickets at Rs 99. The National Cinema Day was planned to commemorate the reopening of cinema halls after the Covid-19 pandemic which led to a shutdown of cinemas for around two years.
"This time, films which are already doing well in theatres, like Srikanth, Mad Max, along with a lot of Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam films will be available on the National Cinema Day. New films available will be Mr & Mrs Mahi, and Chhota Bheem and the Curse of Damyaan, releasing on May 31," Gianchandani said.
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