The Lord Of The Screens

PVRs acquisition of Chennai-based SPI Cinemas has not only strengthened its footing in the southern states but also made it the seventh largest multiplex operator in the world by admissions.

- Ashish Sinha

ON THE BASIS OF THE NUMBER OF FILMS produced and released, India is the largest market in the world. But in terms of screen density (movie screen per million people) it is among the lowest — eight screens per million compared to 126 in the US, 60 in the UK, 40 in South Korea and 26 in China. US-based National Association of Theatre Owners reported there are 40,837 screens in the US as of July. In India, however, there are only around 2,400 multiplex screens and around 6,700 single-screen theatres. However, nearly 45 per cent of the total domestic box office collections are generated at the multiplexes. The top four players based on screen count — PVR, Inox, Carnival, Cinepolis — account for over 70-73 per cent of the overall multiplex business. And that is why any major acquisition has a long-term impact on the films business in India.

A recent Deloitte report says the projected domestic box office collections for FY2019 are pegged at around Rs 11,000 crore of which nearly half is expected to be generated between the four largest multiplex operators. However, it is PVR, the BSE-listed country’s largest multiplex operator for over six years in a row, that is marching ahead having successfully acquired yet another established movie exhibition chain down south — SPI — making PVR the seventh largest multiplex chain operator in the world based by admissions. By the end of 2020, PVR will have 1,000 screens (up from over 700 currently), company officials say.