The Blockbuster Comeback Of Indian Cinema In Multiplexes3 min read
Amidst the covid-19 pandemic and the stringent lockdown most found their solace in the Over The Top (OTT) platform which even witnessed some big movie releases like Shershah, Gunjan Saxena and others. However, now with things getting back to normalcy, the Multiplex and movie market is all set to boom with a Rs.500-crore target over November and December.
Also, we are yet again up for a swift shift from movies releasing on OTT to back in theatres and isn’t that something most of us have been looking forward to? Not to forget the tub of the cheese and caramel popcorn and the typical samosa and coke combo that we’ve missed for the past two years.
While we undoubtedly enjoyed binge watching in the comfort of our pyjamas and bedrooms, somewhere we have also caught ourselves saying, “Yaar, ye movie badi screen pe dekhate toh kitna maza aata” (It would have been fun to watch this movie on a big screen in a theatre).
Here’s what is expected in the coming days-
Be it Akshay Kumar’s cop drama Sooryavanshi, the Hollywood Special Eternals, or Tamil drama Annathhe, the cinema industry seems to be rejoicing after these movies have made a comeback on the big screen in the multiplexes.
In pipeline are Ranveer Singh’s cricket drama ’83 (December 25), Bunty Aur Babli 2 (Nov 19) and Shahid Kapoor’s Jersey (December 31) along with Hollywood’s No Time to Die (Sept 30), Spiderman – No Way Home (Dec 17) and Matrix 4 (Dec 22) are expected to draw crowds back to the theatres after April 2021.
According to analyst reports, with several movies making a comeback in multiplexes, around Rs.500 crore are at stake in the month of November and December only.
A little flashback storytime-
Multiplexes and Malls were one of the last ones to resume operations after services started getting back to normalcy and after the phases of unlocking were announced.
The theatres in Maharashtra, which account to the 30% profits for the multiplex industry in the country have drawn losses of around Rs.4,800 crores ever since the pandemic kicked in. They have however re-opened in the month of November with a hope of witnessing better days in the near future.
Expansion in pipeline-
With the covid-19 cases maintaining a downward trend, the film exhibition business is now seeing signs of recovery and have similarly geared up to grow in numbers.
Major multiplex chains in India such as PVR, INOX, Carnival, and Miraj are firming up expansion plans that have been in the works.
PVR will be entering and exploring new markets in t locations such as Hyderabad, Patiala, Lucknow, Thiruvananthapuram, and Nizamabad.
While the management of INOX Leisure Ltd has asserted that the chain has already opened around 42 screens since the first phase of unlocking began last year in 2020, it now plans on adding 30-35 screens across the country before the financial year in March 2022 and licenses for most of these are underway.
Drive-in theatres are here to steal the show-
Sunset Drive-in-Cinema in Ahmedabad, Prarthana Beach Drive-in-Theatre in Chennai, Under the Stars in Bengaluru and Gurgaon Talkies in the national capital are already a few which have marked their dominance in the drive-in theatre industry.
In addition to the same, Reliance Jio has now joined hands with PVR to operate a 290 car, open-air rooftop cinema in Mumbai. Jio Drive-In theatre, operated by PVR, claims to be powered by Christie RGB Laser Projection for ultimate brightness and boasts of the largest screen while also bringing sound enhancement by broadcasting the soundtrack over FM signal through the sound system installed in the car.
Disclaimer – This content is purely for informational purposes and is in no way advice or recommendation.
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