A DWINDLING AUDIENCE

POST-COVID, MOVIE THEATRES HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO ARREST THE DECLINE IN FOOTFALLS. BUT EVEN AS MANY SINGLE SCREENS CLOSE, NEW PLANS ARE AFOOT TO LURE THE FANS BACK TO THE HALLS

- SUHANI SINGH

Amidst the glitz and spectacle of the World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit (WAVES), one topic weighed on the minds of most film industry stakeholders—the current crisis in the theatre business. “I have always believed that India has too few theatres, given the size of the country and number of people,” actor Aamir Khan said at a session. “Our biggest theatre hits have had footfalls of 30-35 million. That's 2 per cent of our population in what is a cinema-loving country.” Seated next to him was Ajay Bijli, founder of PVR Cinemas and managing director of country’s biggest multiplex chain, PVR INOX Ltd. Bijli replied in jest, “Main office jaata hoon I better head to office to get work done].”

The world’s most populous country has just about 9,000 screens, a number that has been steadily declining, largely due to the closure of single-screen cinemas. The figure implies that there are roughly 7-8 screens per million people. More than half of these screens are concentrated in southern territories, predominantly in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, followed by Karnataka and Kerala. Even as new box office benchmarks have been set post-pandemic with releases like Pathaan, Jawan, Animal, Stree 2 and Pushpa-Chapter 2-The Rule, the hard reality is that footfalls have still not matched up to 2019 levels. As Aamir called for more screens in “vast tracts where there are no cinemas”, Bijli reminded us that existing screens were struggling to put bums on the existing 4 million seats. “Consistency of content that engages is important, as the consumer is critical,” Bijli said. “We need to start cinemas carefully...in pockets where they are not available.”

The latest EY report on India’s media and entertainment sector states the need for low-priced theatres in Tier III and IV markets alongside growth in “mass-themed films”. Five months into 2025, there has been only one that fits the bill—