Blockbuster pricing: Box office booster or keeping viewers away?

The strategy of pricing film tickets exorbitantly during festivals such as the recent Diwali weekend on the assumption that people have more money at their disposal during the holidays has divided theatre operators and experts.

- Latajha

While some experts point out that footfalls in a country like India could be significantly higher if tickets are nominally priced, especially for such occasions, multiplex chains say the box office for big-ticket films is only bolstered by such rates and people don't mind paying more when the content on offer is of scale and value.

For big festivals such as Diwali, ticket prices can increase as much as threefold across multiplex chains and single-screen cinemas, a strategy that is referred to as 'blockbuster pricing. In their opening weekends, the two Hindi language Diwali film releases, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 Ill crore, and Singham Again, earned ₹100 crore and respectively.