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<ul><li>PVR INOX Passport allows users to watch 10 movies/month on weekdays for ₹699, consumers can watch.</li><li>It’s targeted towards senior citizens, housewives and more importantly students and youngsters.</li><li>Passport can energize weekday theater occupancies and improve F&amp;B sales, say analysts </li></ul>How many people watch ten movies a month? Not even in the hay days, when movies were a key source of entertainment. Now, at a time when theaters are struggling with occupancies and footfalls, India’s largest multiplex chain has brought out its PVR INOX Passport. For ₹699, consumers can watch 10 movies in a month on weekdays but without access to its IMAX, Gold, LUXE and Director's Cut services. Even as the movie industry saw post-pandemic successes with RRR, Pathan, <keyword id="6498265" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pushpa" source="Orion">Pushpa</keyword> and Rocky and Rani Ki Prem Kahani, occupancies haven’t yet hit pre-Covid levels. Now, PVR is hopeful that with this limited period offer, they can bring back some of those who have lost the habit of watching movies on the screen. “The three significant target groups we are focusing on are students, housewives, and senior citizens, where we believe lies a great opportunity. We expect this innovative offering will not only revitalize weekday cinema attendance but also introduce a new dimension to how our patrons interact with and enjoy the world of cinema,” said Gautam Dutta, co-CEO of PVR INOX. The big screens are being hurt by OTT’s weekly and monthly launches of shows and direct-to-OTT movies. Moreover, GenZs with mobiles and easy data access, find little allure of watching movies in a size larger than life. Unlimited OTTs plus limited theatrical releases PVR is trying to build a habit of making movie watching a social outing that it has been for generations before. OTTs have also upped their ante during the pandemic and has brought back movie loving public into its fold. The time lag between a theatrical release and their satellite/OTT debuts have come down drastically. In some cases, it’s a matter of a few weeks. Added to that, a few superstar-starring, much awaited movies are going directly to OTTs. Case in point – Knives Out ‘Glass Onion’ starring Daniel Craig had a ‘limited’ release before it hit Netflix. Even Martin Scorsese planned the same for his ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ but canceled it. There are more examples closer home too. One of Bollywood’s most-awaited debuts with three star kids directed by Zoya Akhtar is The Archies. The off-beat movie starring Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter Suhana Khan, Amitabh Bachchan’s grandson Agastya Nanda, and late actress Sridevi’s daughter Khushi Kapoor, is coming to Netflix. More reason for the young to subscribe to Netflix and chill, instead of making a movie date. “This move may eventually bring the youth back to the cinemas, which will be a big positive structural trigger. The only ponderable is if lower pricing or good content would be the decider to usher in this change,” says Karan Taurani, research analyst at Elara Capital in a note on the offer. Without the price-barrier If there ever was a good way to bring back young people to try something, price reduction is the way to go. Many apps and new-age businesses are built on this theory. PVR’s Passport plan however does zero or no damage to their economics. As per Elara’s calculations, pan-India, annual average occupancy for exhibitors for weekdays (Monday-Thursday) is around 17%. Discounted ticket prices may prop occupancy towards 20-25% it believes. “Increased occupancy may not come at any incremental costs and may drive better F&amp;B and ad revenue which is high-margin in nature,” Taurani adds. The Passport offer which is not available in the South of India, is also limited in nature. Only 20,000 of these passes are available. The idea behind it is not merely to boost weekday occupancy, claims PVR. “With the Passport, we have sought to break the barriers of cost and allow our newer audiences to immerse themselves in a wide array of movies across diverse genres. We expect this innovative offering will not only revitalize weekday cinema attendance but also introduce a new dimension to how our patrons interact with and enjoy the world of cinema,” said Dutta. Small vs Big Apart from limited releases, a lot of quaint small movies, whose surprise performance vitalized box offices are also missing. These are the movies that are being swept off by OTTs and as per media reports, producers and distributors are also getting <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/studios-fail-to-talk-up-movies-theatres-pay-the-price/articleshow/104897753.cms">tight-fisted with marketing spends</a>. Taurani says that theaters’ dependence on large-budget films increased to around 85% in Hindi <keyword id="25892" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="box-office" source="Orion">Box Office</keyword> (BO) which is a structural risk. If there is an option to watch ‘many movies’ with a prepaid option, the small movies which are hitherto undiscovered can get a boost. “It's about making every visit to the cinema an opportunity to discover something new, to be entertained, and to be captivated by the magic of storytelling on the big screen, even with the smaller films,” said Dutta. Be it big or small, a movie on a big screen is always an experience. Whether the younger generation who is reportedly more keen on experiences than anything will subscribe to it, is yet to be seen. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/what-do-genzs-think-about-the-number-of-work-hours-in-a-week/articleshow/104874213.cms">My shift is over: Why do GenZs say it, and is it a bad thing?</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/mamaearth-ipo-honansa-consumers-d-street-debut-to-be-an-acid-test-for-d2c-companies/articleshow/104840366.cms">Honasa Consumer’s D-Street debut an acid test for D2C companies </a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/mamaearth-ipo-honansa-consumers-d-street-debut-to-be-an-acid-test-for-d2c-companies/articleshow/104840366.cms" style="font-size: 16px;"></a> <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Text"><cdata><![CDATA[]]></cdata></div>

PVR woos Netflix n Chill crowd back to big screens with its Passport

<ul><li>Iconic romantic films including DDLJ, Tamasha, Titanic 3D version and Jab We Met were re-released during Valentine’s week. </li><li>For chains like PVR, reruns have been an important part of their campaign to bring India back to the theatres. </li><li>Analyst Karan Taurani believes reruns are not powerful enough to impact collections or drive theatre occupancy and indicates lack of fresh Bollywood content. </li><li>Indian film critic Sucharita Tyagi states reruns of classics are helping build film communities, drive theatre occupancy and celebrate cinema. </li></ul>Theatre audiences in one of the PVR’s in Punjab were seen dancing to the groovy beats of ‘Mauja hi mauja’, a song from Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor Khan-starrer Jab We Met, rereleased in theatres almost two decades after its original release. Kapoor called it ‘too special’ on Twitter. But is the business of nostalgia strong enough to mint money at the box office? Several iconic romantic films including – Shah Rukh Khan (SRK)-Kajol-starrer Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaayenge (DDLJ), Ranbir Kapoor-Deepika Padukone’s Tamasha, James Cameron’s Titanic in 3D and Jab We Met – were released across PVR, Inox and Cinepolis theatres during Valentine’s week this February. Even though DDLJ remains the longest-running film in Indian cinema and is immensely popular with multiple reruns, it found tough competition this Valentine’s week from the Jab We Met rerun. “Jab We Met has now started beating DDLJ in PVR. Jab We Met collected ₹2 lakh on Friday. The collections then jumped to approximately ₹5 lakh on Saturday while the collections on Sunday were ₹6 lakh. On Monday, while DDLJ collected ₹6 lakh, Jab We Met collected ₹6.5 lakh in the multiplex chain,” reported<a href="https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/jab-mets-re-release-springs-surprise-collects-monday-sunday-also-beats-dilwale-dulhania-le-jayenge-pvr/"> Bollywood Hungama</a>. Rerun campaigns for boosting footfalls PVR Oberoi Mall in Goregaon, Mumbai decided to play six shows of Jab We Met on Valentine’s day. Tamasha had 150 shows with 50% audience occupancy and Titanic 3D version rerun had 1,000 shows, with 60% occupancy, PVR told Business Insider India. The PVR’S Valentine Week Film Festival (10th-16th February 2023) also re-released other romantic titles across languages – Ticket to Paradise (English), Ved (Marathi), Geetha Govindam (Telugu), Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (Tamil), Hridayam (Malayalam), Googly (Kannada) and Love Ni Bhavai (Gujarati). “Screened across 25 cities in India, Jab We Met, DDLJ, Tamasha, Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa and Titanic especially received good response, recording average occupancy of 50-70%. Shows of Jab We Met had to be increased to meet the increased demand,” Gautam Dutta, CEO, PVR, told Business Insider India. PVR aims to continue with their rerun campaigns in the future, given the power nostalgia wields on millennials and even GenZs, Dutta added. For chains like PVR, reruns have been an important part of their campaign to boost theatre occupancy – be it re-releasing 11 films starring Amitabh Bachchan on his 80th birthday or the ‘Dilip Kumar Hero of Heroes’ campaign celebrating his 100th birth anniversary. The release of DDLJ during SRK’s birthday last year collected ₹23.4 lakh, claiming 60% occupancy then. “When you watch Jab We Met, you also watch it with 300 people who are die-hard fans of that film. Witnessing this celebration is pure joy. You know the punchlines, where to laugh, where to cry. Props to the Film Federation of India for bringing these classics back. They are also driving theatre occupancy,” Sucharita Tyagi, an Indian film critic told Business Insider India. Many movies like DDLJ, Tamasha, Jab We Met are already available on OTTs yet cinephiles are flocking to theatres in hoards. An Ormax report states the Indian theatre audience has lost <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/indian-film-industry-lost-24-million-moviegoers-to-the-pandemic-ormax/articleshow/97918537.cms">24 million</a> moviegoers to the pandemic. This is accentuated by low impact of small and medium-budget films and availability of OTT platforms. The OTT audience in India has grown 20% in 2022 with 424 million active users. Yet, it looks like the big screen has its pull. “We are seeing films like Deewar in theatres, which was released when we weren’t even born. It is a novelty experience. Reruns boost film communities. The Priyanka Chopra led Jio-MAMI festival is also bringing physical screenings back. It is a good time for cinema I believe,” added Tyagi. Impact on collections: minuscule Reruns may boost film communities, but will they be able to revive flagging footfalls and lift box office collections? Karan Taurani, analyst at Elara Capital, believes reruns are not powerful enough to impact collections or drive theatre occupancy. They are rather indicative of fresh Bollywood content. Also, reruns have limitations in their reach. For instance, a Jab We Met will rake in more numbers in Punjab or Delhi as compared to South Indian cities like Chennai. “Reruns are happening because Pathaan has seen a strong run in the last two and a half weeks. Little to no fresh content is being offered, which is why these films are being re-released. The number of Hindi films released every quarter have come down 25-30%, from over 20 films every quarter pre-pandemic to less than 14 films now. There is greater reliance on big-budget films,” Taurani told Business Insider India. SRK-Deepika Padukone-starrer Pathaan crossed ₹500 crore in India in 20 days, contributing 46% to <a href="https://www.ormaxmedia.com/insights/stories/the-india-box-office-report-january-2023.html?s=08">January’s India box office</a> collections. Films released in January 2023 grossed ₹1,389 crore at the domestic box office, the highest since April 2022, as per <a href="https://www.ormaxmedia.com/insights/stories/the-india-box-office-report-january-2023.html?s=08">Ormax report.</a> A caveat – only six films managed to cross the ₹10 crore mark, indicating greater reliance on big-budget movies like Pathaan. “The impact of reruns is very minuscule. Collection is low because these are consumed more in terms of single screens where ticket prices are low. I don’t foresee a large number of people going to multiplexes for these films as ticket prices are 3-4 times higher,” added Taurani. But Tyagi states these movies are helping India come back to the theatres, although she too wishes the ticket prices of these movies were cheaper. “I cannot say if these movies are being used as fillers before the big releases but I am glad India is coming back to the theatres. I wish the ticket prices and snacks at concession stands were cheaper at theatres to make movie watching a more affordable experience,” added Tyagi. Reruns may not be too successful at raking in the moolah at the box office but what they surely do is revive the currency of nostalgia – allowing the audience to relive the past while providing theatre chains a respite from falling audience footfalls.

Business of nostalgia: Reruns aim to bring India back to the silver screens

<ul><li>As different markets slowly open up, the cinema industry is gearing up to facilitate a safe environment for their consumers. </li><li>However, consumers continue to feel anxious about stepping out and ponder upon various safety concerns like what would the seating arrangement be like, how often will they sanitize the cinema halls and how safe will the food be? We spoke to multiplexes to find out the answers.</li></ul>The world is constantly changing and will not be the same after we come out of this situation for a while. Like every other industry, the experience of watching a film in theatre with a large set of audience might not be the same either. As the pandemic-induced lockdown has pushed us towards subscribing to more streaming platforms, the latest movie premiers on Amazon Prime in India left the industry concerned for the future of cinema. However, contrary to the perception being built in the trade and media, Ormax Media’s latest report revealed that high consumption of films on TV and OTT has not reduced the audience attraction for theatrical experience. The report further said that audiences have given whole-hearted endorsement to the theatrical experience, with 82% missing going to the theatres. A dominant section of the audience also said that they will go back to the theatres within 2-3 weeks of them re-opening. Social distancing and sanitization precautions taken by theatres will play a crucial role in their decision to visit. On a scale of one to 100, the respondents gave high importance to almost all safety measures, which were as follows: <div type="image" title="ormax media report - safety concerns" msid="76042822" hostid="261"></div> Multiplexes have, therefore, put their best foot forward to ensure they build a safe environment and tweak their marketing strategy to reach to their consumers at different touch points in their ticketing journey. We caught up with <keyword id="799" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="PVR">PVR</keyword>’s Joint Managing Director, Sanjeev Kumar Bijli and <keyword id="6407732" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="inox">Inox</keyword> Leisure’s CEO, Alok Tandon to find out what kind of precautions they have taken to build customer confidence for their return to the cinemas.and what would the future of the industry look like once we resume normalcy. The future is contactless As per Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), all cinema halls are required to disinfect every possible area in the premises starting from the entrance to F&amp;B stand to the auditorium. To ensure a safe distance is maintained, theatres will be demarcating circles in the foyer and encourage digital transactions to avoid queuing. Before you enter the hall, your body temperature will also be checked through guns, and if found with a high temperature, your amount will be refunded. In regular auditoriums, families and groups will be seated together and one adjacent seat would be left empty. Luxurious halls that come with existing width between each recliner seat, will not have to leave a vacant seat in between. Use and throw 3D glasses will be distributed and premium IMAX 3D glasses will be disinfected after every use. <div type="image" title="cinema screen" msid="76042795" hostid="261"></div> But what about impulsive watchers? “To offer a contactless experience to those guests who make an impulsive decision to watch a movie, I am glad to share that 100% of our POS card machines are enabled for contactless transactions,” shares Tandon. To help detect asymptomatic cases, PVR has tied up with a hospital, name not disclosed to the media yet, to arrange body check-ups for their employees once or twice a week. Reviving back to its full strength Both Tandon and Bijli are certain that the audiences’ passion for cinema will remain unaffected. They opine that the future of cinema is secure and stable. “We will now assign greater significance towards understanding the needs and aspirations of the fast evolving consumers and working out ways to satisfy them, through services and experiences, and of course, safety. We will continue to focus on customizations and personalization, and we know that a cookie-cutter approach may not work, and I am glad that we are well equipped to handle it. The liking for the giant screen has stood the test of time and has seen through many difficult phases in its century old history. We believe this passion will take care of the concerns and apprehension and will bring back the ‘old normal’, which featured gangs coming together, seated hand in hand, sharing popcorns, having celebrations over lip-smacking meals and above all, a heavy exchange of emotions,” said Tandon. “The future of cinema in the post-COVID world is very bright,” said Bijli. He added, “We are all just waiting for cinema to open to showcase our new protocols on safety and hygiene to give confidence to the consumers that it is safe place to come back and enjoy their favourite form of entertainment -- as and when we do open, which I feel is not very far from now. Industries are opening up slowly, we are seeing more relaxations now. Before COVID, 60-65% of the tickets were bought online and we’ll continue to push that.” To engage with their consumers and make sure they trust them, Bijli shared that PVR is going to communicate the precautions it has taken via digital media and might explore print if it picks up. It has also conducted an email survey amongst its consumer base to understand their expectations better and continue to engage with them. How long till we see the old normal? We reached out to a few industry experts to understand how long it will take for cinema to revive considering that a lot of people will continue to avoid crowded places. Shailesh Kapoor, CEO, Ormax Media highlighted that multiplexes will need to strengthen their marketing strategy to regain trust among consumers. He said, “Cinemas will reopen at some stage, but it's difficult to say when. The most optimistic estimate will be August, but it could be as late as Sep-Oct. Theatre chains will have to build confidence in the audience's minds that it is safe to revisit theatres. For this, theatres will need to take safety measures and do campaigns promoting these safety measures. Bigger chains like PVR and INOX will be able to get more audience trust than smaller chains and local cinemas.” Harikrishnan Pillai, CEO and co-founder, TheSmallBigIdea thinks creation of content will not be a problem but changing the distribution and pricing strategy will play a key role in luring the consumers onto different platforms. “While creation will have its challenges, it is still a smaller hurdle. The future of cinema depends on how distribution and pricing is handled. I think new pricing models will evolve. Producers have always been selling satellite and overseas and have covered a part of their cost. OTT rights was a new norm that added to this revenue. With an OTT-first release, these films could command a premium. But that premium won't cover the loss made by muting the biggest distribution channel, which are the theatres. So theoretically revenue loss is imminent. But here’s the twist. When you make a film, there is a chance of it tanking at the box office. So if the film is sold outright to a platform on the back of the star cast and the perception, there is a possibility that the producers will end up hedging possible losses. Big films with big star cast might go for models where they will have a fee and a percent of new downloads or have a completely different pay per view model being developed with the OTT platform and make it the new box office window.” Karan Taurani, Vice President - Research Analyst, Elara Capital said that the cinema industry will take a lot of time to come back on-track and contactless will be its future. “When cinemas open up, they will start with 10% occupancy and slowly move to 15-20% and peak out at 25%. I think social distancing will prevail until there is a vaccination or a cure,” said Taurani.

Here is how multiplexes are gearing up for post-lockdown period

<ul><li>The six films, available in five different languages, include <keyword id="652906" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shakuntala-Devi">Shakuntala Devi</keyword> featuring <keyword id="3844" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vidya-Balan">Vidya Balan</keyword>, and <keyword id="6267413" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ponmagal-Vandhal">Ponmagal Vandhal</keyword> starring Jyotika. </li><li>These films will be released on Amazon Prime Videos in the next three months. </li><li>Previously, Amitabh Bachchan, in a twitter post, announced the digital release of Gulabo Sitabo on June 12.</li></ul>Amazon Prime Videos is hitting the theatres it hurt the most. After announcing the digital release of Gulabo Sitabo, the OTT giant confirmed digital release of six other much awaited films on its platforms. The six films, available in five different languages, include Shakuntala Devi featuring Vidya Balan, Ponmagal Vandhal starring Jyotika, Penguin starring Keerthy Suresh (Tamil and Telugu), Sufiyum Sujatayum (Malayalam) starring Aditi Rao Hydari, Law (Kannada) featuring Ragini Chandran and Siri Prahlad, and French Biryani (Kannada). Previously, Amitabh Bachchan, <a href="https://twitter.com/SrBachchan/status/1260936221259423749">in a twitter post,</a> announced the digital release of Gulabo Sitabo on June 12. These films will be released on Amazon Prime Videos in the next three months. Release schedule on Amazon Prime Videos <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Ponmagal Vandhal </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">May 29 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Penguin </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">June 19 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Law </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">June 26 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Sufiyum Sujatayum </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Not yet announced </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">French Biryani </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">July 24 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Shakuntala Devi </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Not yet announced </td></tr></tbody></table> This is bad news for theatre owners including multiplex operators like PVR and Inox. “Expect occupancy in multiplexes to remain low in initial weeks and envisage recovery to begin from the festive season (September-October 2020), which is likely to coincide with the release of big-budget movies,” an Edelweiss report said last week. In the meantime, they will lose precious business. While fans must be cheering for the digital release<a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/theater-owners-disappointed-call-gulabo-sitabo-direct-ott-release-a-mistake-6410255/">, theatre owners are disappointed and angry</a>. Coronavirus has forced around 9000 screens in India to shut down for an unknown time period — making cinema halls lose ₹150 crore a week. And now with producers opting for digital release, these cinema halls might struggle to survive.INOX had <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/theater-owners-disappointed-call-gulabo-sitabo-direct-ott-release-a-mistake-6410255/">earlier expressed “displeasure” on digital release of Gulabo Sitabo. </a> <div type="image" title="snapshot-1589527786675" msid="75753821" hostid="261"></div> “Indian audiences have been eagerly awaiting the release of these 7 highly anticipated films and we are delighted that Amazon Prime Video will now be premiering these movies for our customers - who can enjoy watching these from the safety &amp; comfort of their homes and on a screen of their choice,” said Gaurav Gandhi, Director and Country General Manager, Amazon Prime Video India. Gandhi believes digital release will allow these films to reach its viewers 4000 cities and towns across 200 countries. However, it is yet not clear whether these films will be available in the existing prime membership plan. Moreover, India still doesn’t have the pay per view on Amazon prime videos yet. Apart from Amazon Prime Videos, other OTT platforms like Zee5 and Netflix are also chasing producers for digital release of films that have finished production. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/bollywood-gives-in-amitabh-bachchan-and-ayushmann-khurrana-starrer-gulabo-sitabo-wont-wait-for-theatres-will-release-on-amazon-prime/articleshow/75735845.cms">Bollywood gives in -- Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana starrer Gulabo Sitabo won't wait for theatres, will release on Amazon Prime </a>

From Shakuntala Devi to Ponmagal Vandhal ⁠— 7 movies across languages will release first on Amazon Prime and that’s making PVR and INOX anxious

For the past four months, <keyword id="157271" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="PVR-Ltd">PVR Ltd</keyword>'s Group President, Pramod Arora, has been clocking up air miles as he travelled the world looking for inspiration. In fact Arora travelled so far and wide that he could be soon be dubbed Ryan Bingham - the character played by <keyword id="11804" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="George-Clooney">George Clooney</keyword> in the film Up in the Air. 
 
Multiplexes are generally not known to be citadels of innovation but in a country where cricket and movies are a religion it is important to keep pioneering to stay relevant. At the heart of this exercise is one of PVR's one of the most ambitious and largest projects till date - the 15 screen 'Superplex' in Noida. 
 
"As plans for the Superplex were drawn, I visited every cinema hall in every part of the world to experience the best practices that we can pick up. At the end I realized cinema industry may not be the correct industry to look at. By looking at the cinema industry we realized that either we were ahead of what others were doing or at par with what they were doing," says Arora. 
 Arora turned elsewhere for insights. "In terms of benchmark we decided to compare ourselves to the hospitality industry and also looked at companies like <keyword id="6354427" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Apple">Apple</keyword>. People say there are no similarities between Apple and the cinema industry but there are immense commonalities. 
 
Arora says the trick lies in making sure the consumer is deriving satisfaction from the product you are selling in the minimum possible time and how a company is able to retain the consumer, once he is serviced, for the maximum possible time. "In this minimum and maximum lies your ability to monetize and this is what we are trying to master. For us it was picking up the thread from various industries across the globe," says Arora. 
 
PVR now plans to invest Rs. 250 crore to add 100 new screens this fiscal. It currently has 444 screens in 101 properties spread across 43 cities and targets to touch 1,000 screens by 2017-18. The Superplex is expected to be operational by end of March 2015 and the 15 screen complex would cost the company about Rs. 50 crore to develop. 
 
Inception: 
 According to a <keyword id="50041" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="KPMG">KPMG</keyword> report Multiplexes, as of today, account for approximately 25 percent of the total number of screens in the country with a low screen density of 8 screens per million in comparison with 117 per million in the US. "Given the low screen penetration, India has the potential to significantly increase the number of existing multiplex screens in the country over the next decade without causing an oversupply of screens," says the KPMG report. 
 
In 2013, the industry added approximately 150-200 screens, with major growth coming from expansion of multiplexes in tier II and III cities. Occupancy levels for major multiplexes players have risen from approximately 23-27 percent in 2011 to more than 30 per cent in 2013. 
 
"In India movie watching theoretically begins from the age of 5. If we look at cinema halls we will see that we do not provide anything for five year olds except sit on their mother's lap and cry or disturb others around them. We have realized that the categories of ages 5-9 need to be addressed," says Arora. 
 Arora says PVR Superplex will have a special auditorium designed called the 'PVR Playhouse'- an exclusive fun and <keyword id="4578" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="entertainment">entertainment</keyword> destination for children. PVR Playhouse will witness a space exclusively for kids to be at their natural best. The auditorium will have half dim light - brighter lighting than other formats, cartoon characters both on and off screen and special seating facilities like bean bags to create a comfortable environment. "For younger kids, PVR will provide visual attractions like play seats, playful interiors and the middle alley will resemble a slope just like a slide for kids to enjoy. Keeping in mind the safety of kids, the flooring will have a rubberized surface for an easy topple," says Arora. 
 
PVR will also operate on the opposite end of the age spectrum as the new multiplex would also have a different screen for senior citizens. 
 
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PVR is well aware that technology changes fast and multiplexes in days to come may not be the preferred medium for cinema as home theater screens are becoming better and bigger. "For example HD has become table stake today and we have understood that if we do not make our medium more immersive, it is not really going to deliver the bang for the buck for the consumer," says Arora. 
 For an immersive movie viewing PVR is addressing the sound and the elctroacoustics in a much more superior way. "<keyword id="16674" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="George-Lucas">George Lucas</keyword> has done this in the US for time immemorial but why people have not taken it up is because it is expensive," says Arora. 
 
He adds that PVR took two years to re-engineer the technology at a fraction of a cost. "For example if it rains in the movie, you currently hear it from the surround system or from the speakers behind the screen. For you to be able to feel rain the sound must come from the top and when it falls to the ground, the sound must come from the bottom. From an engineering perspective, it is a very big problem but we have worked on it and managed to reduce the cost associated with it," says Rao. 
 
With respect to screens the ones in cinemas today is flat. PVRs new screen would be curved or concave, which would provide a more immersive and greater viewing area. PVR says there is a perceptible difference in viewing. "These Silver screens are more expensive to the tune of about 200 percent but since it lasts for about 20 years so it's worth it," says Arora. 
 
Five formats and a playhouse: 
 
This will be the first time PVR brings all its brands under one roof. PVR currently runs five brands ranging from IMAX, ECX (enhanced cinema experience), PVR Premier, Directors Cut, PVR 4DX in India and with the addition of PVR Playhouse will operate six formats, all under one roof. "PVR stands as a strong mother brand and we were looking to introduce the other brands of cinemas. IMax is one of them and then we go on incorporating multiple other brand that PVR straddles under one roof. This way failure of one brand will never be able to define or shape the final outcome of the mother brand," says Arora. 
 According to Emkay Global Financial Services research report, PVR enjoys a <keyword id="34527" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="market-share">market share</keyword> of 20-22 percent and 30-35 percent of <keyword id="143" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Bollywood">Bollywood</keyword> and Hollywood box-office film revenues, respectively. This provides better negotiating power for content sharing with distributors/producers. Its right location strategy and aggressive expansion plans would continue to drive footfalls and revenues, going forward. Emkay also sees robust growth in F&amp;B and advertisement, which would help drive revenue/EBITDA at a <keyword id="107168" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="CAGR">CAGR</keyword> of 17 percent/23 percent over FY14-16 (estimate), resulting in healthy cash generation. 
 
Chocolat: 
 
As discretionary spends on eating out is on a rise, if cinemas go on serving the consumer with Soda and popcorn, it is not going to take them far. "The consumer is ready to pay money but they need quality and service. In a cinema environment it is challenging to provide gourmet chef driven menu but we have decided to push ahead. We have decided to come up with a menu that change with the season and that is being mastered now and by the time the complex is open, he would be ready to cater to all," says Arora. 
 
A multiplex has limited retail space to display food items so PVR will push information on food on cinema goers' mobile phones and through specialized tablets. "We will have a large base kitchen in the multiplex and once you order your food through the PVR app or through the tablets we will have in the multiplex, fresh food will be delivered to your seats. Different strokes for different folks as senior citizens will get large plasma screens to make their food choice," says Arora. KPMG says currently, an exhibitor's revenue comprises of 70 percent of ticket sales, 20 percent of food and beverages and 10 percent of cinema advertising. 
 
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A. I. Artificial Intelligence: 
 
Major corporate houses have multiple Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems running but when it comes to engagement most companies in India have been going wrong. "Forget about going into predictive intelligence, many have not even been able to identify the sex of the individual whose mobile number they have in their database," says Arora. 
 
The mobile app of PVR, developed in-house, now uses predictive intelligence where it knows what you have been watching, what you like, what you did not and a plethora of data around an individual's movie watching habits. "We envisage a situation where you are a part of a community that wants to watch a movie like Mughal-e-Azam, which is not running in the cinemas; you should be able to book a cinema for that movie if say 60 such individuals decide to watch it on a particular date and time," says Arora.

Lord Of The Screen: How PVR Is Innovating To Stay Ahead

<ul><li>The box office collection of Prabhas’ last two releases, Saaho and Radhe Shyam, were much below expectations. </li><li>If it’s able to manage a good opening, <keyword id="9776044" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="adipurush" source="Orion">Adipurush</keyword> may be able to breach the ₹350-crore lifetime earnings mark, says Elara Capital. </li><li>Small and medium budget films continue to struggle, as their success in North and South circuits has dropped sharply. </li><li>The first quarter of FY24 has gotten off to a slow start, with no surprises except for The Kerala Story and Hollywood movie, Fast X. </li></ul>After an average performance of his last two movies, South superstar Prabhas might see a good run at the box office with his upcoming release Adipurush, say analysts. The movie, based on the mythological epic Ramayana, is expected to bring in opening day collections of ₹50-60 crore for the dubbed versions. The Hindi original is also expected to clock in ₹20 crore, predicts a research report by Elara Capital. As <a href="https://www.dnaindia.com/bollywood/report-adipurush-overseas-advance-booking-bulldozes-past-rs-6-crore-mark-prabhas-om-raut-kriti-sanon-saif-ali-khan-3047559">per media reports</a>, its advance bookings have been creating buzz, especially in overseas markets like Canada and Australia. If it’s able to manage a good opening, this big budget movie will be able to breach the ₹350- crore lifetime earnings mark – unlike Prabhas’ earlier movies Saaho and Radhe Shyam whose collections at ₹280 crore and ₹150 crore, respectively, were way below expectations “The film may surpass our estimates based on good content and word-of-mouth. Ticket prices are expected to be premium, around 20% higher than the average ticket prices on a pan-India level,” says Karan Taurani and Rounak Roy of Elara Capital. Adipurush will be released across India on June 16 in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam. It also stars Saif Ali Khan and Kriti Sanon, and is directed by Om Raut who had delivered the superhit movie, Tanaji. Small budget films not bringing in the moolah In spite of a few recent hits like Pathaan, The Kerala Story, Kantara and more, movie theatres have been struggling to bring back footfalls to match the pre-Covid levels. “Small and medium budget films continue to struggle as frequency of content becoming successful has dropped sharply in the North and South circuits,” the research report from Elara, which tracks PVR, says. Vicky Kaushal and Sara Ali Khan's latest release Zara Hatke Zara Bachke has minted ₹37.4 crore in its first week, according to trade analyst Taran Adarsh. The movie, directed by Laxman Utekar, saw a decent opening, garnering ₹5.49 crore on the first day of its release. In spite of the positive surprise that the movie delivered, Elara believes that the momentum was driven by the Buy-One-Get-One-Free (BOGO) offer. It reduces distributor-producer share to approximately 30% from 50% earlier. “It makes film production economics unviable; while it is a good promotional activity to propel audiences back into the cinema halls to drive frequency, good and consistent content is the only big driver for improved occupancy levels,” say Taurani and Roy in their note. A slow start to FY24 The first quarter of FY24 has gotten off to a slow start in terms of box office, with no surprises except for The Kerala Story and Hollywood movie, Fast X. Hindi film box office collections for the first quarter are expected to be 20% lower than what they were pre-Covid. As compared to the same quarter last year, the drop is expected to be sharper at 30%, the research firm predicts. For context, the same time last year had hit movies like Rajamouli’s RRR, Karthik Aryan’s Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 and Yash’s KGF 2. The second quarter of FY24 is expected to see many big movie releases like Karthik Aryan’s Satyaprem, Sunny Deol’s Gadar 2, Ranveer Singh’s Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani, Akshay Kumar’s OMG 2, Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal and Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan. “Q2FY24 may be the best quarter even if half of these films report a healthy box office collection. Woes persist for exhibitors as Hindi content recovery is important to drive advertising growth, which remains under pressure,” the Elara report opines. The number of Hindi films lined up for release however remains lower than pre-Covid levels — by 30-35%.

Adipurush’s opening box office collection projections show Prabhas is back

<ul><li>Amid the nationwide lockdown, production houses are releasing their movies directly on <keyword id="5293670" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="OTT-platforms">OTT platforms</keyword> and have skipped the theatrical window run. </li><li>Multiplexes are expressing their disapproval of this trend on social media and requesting content creators to not skip the traditional windowing pattern.</li><li>We reached out to industry experts to find out what this means for the industry and if this could be a long-term trend. </li></ul>The on-going COVID-19 crisis has forced the multiplexes to shut down. As per Ormax Media’s Shailesh Kapoor, the pandemic has led to a whopping loss of Rs 2500 crore, which might accumulate upto Rs 5000 crore by the time theatres reopen. As a result, for the first time in its history, production houses have skipped the theatrical window run for a few Indian movies and are now releasing them directly onto OTT platforms. To be specific, Amazon Prime Video announced that it has acquired global streaming rights for seven upcoming Indian movies in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, on its platform between May and August. It includes Gulabo Sitabo, Shakuntala Devi, Ponmagal Vandhaal, Penguin, Sufiyum Sujathayum, Law and French Biryani. Amazon’s announcement evoked mixed reactions from the multiplexes. They expressed their dismay with the production house’s decision to go directly for streaming services. <div type="twitter" handle="INOXMovies" handlename="INOX Leisure Ltd." image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1253021908179628032/D9TO3szK_normal.jpg" favoritecount="2724" retweetcount="526" status="STATEMENT BY INOX ON A PRODUCTION HOUSE’S ANNOUNCEMENT TO RELEASE THEIR MOVIE ON AN OTT PLATFORM BY SKIPPING THE TH… https://t.co/iPSHMHvNbD" createdat="1589465718000" id="1260936729617260544"></div> <div type="twitter" handle="taran_adarsh" handlename="taran adarsh" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1440352704/profile_pic_taran_normal.jpg" favoritecount="4198" retweetcount="265" status="IMPORTANT... Release of films on #OTT platforms... #PVR has its say... OFFICIAL STATEMENT... https://t.co/7ow7zMpzjB" createdat="1589610704000" id="1261544847623643136"></div> The Producers Guild of India responded to the multiplexes ensuring that it ‘would work extensively to get audiences back to theatres once the cinemas reopen.’ <div type="twitter" handle="producers_guild" handlename="producersguildindia" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/962298169521528832/j-f_hRx9_normal.jpg" favoritecount="1584" retweetcount="348" status="Statement from Producers Guild of India https://t.co/WCeX3zMlsh" createdat="1589517078000" id="1261152148890415106"></div> INOX and PVR, both, issued a public statement reacting to the same development. However, both of them had a different approach. Karthik Srinivasan, Social Media and Brand Expert, uploaded a <a href="http://beastoftraal.com/2020/05/18/inoxs-outburst-and-a-lesson-on-framing-in-corporate-communication/">blog </a>highlighting how INOX’s outburst teaches us a lesson on framing in corporate communications. He compared both the letters and said, “In principle, INOX’s argument has merit. But the way it frames the argument demonstrates arrogance and holier-than-thou stand. When someone or a corporate entity showcases that, it becomes a natural sign for the reader to mentally bring down that arrogance.” We further spoke to experts to find out if this could be a long term trend and how it might affect the stakeholders, here is what they said: Jehil Thakkar, Partner, Deloitte India: This is a solution to a short-term need of the film industry which is getting by financial difficulties. It is a win-win situation for the OTT players who are looking for content as consumption has gone up and filmmakers who have ready products which are due for use. In the longer term, assuming things return to normal, I don’t see this being a paradigm shift. More deals will happen now than earlier but given that India’s 65-70% of revenue depends on box office collections, I don’t see this becoming a long-term trend. There may be a few odd films that go directly to OTT. They have commissioned movies before and it’s no different right now. It is just that the windowing is changed from going to theatre-first or OTT second, vice-versa. Shailesh Kapoor, Founder and CEO, Ormax Media: I don't see this as a long-term trend but a short-term one, created because of the indefinite closure of theatres. Once theatres re-open, we can expect old business models to take over. Though some small films may be tempted to take the digital route, most films with a medium or big scale will go for theatrical releases. Even the OTT platforms are currently paying a premium for direct OTT releases because the lockdown gets them more captive audience. This will not be the case when life begins to get back to normal. Harikrishnan Pillai, CEO and Co-founder, TheSmallBigIdea: OTT-first release will depend on the status of social distancing. If it continues even at half the current intensity, then this is the new norm. If this continues, the theatre/multiplex business will definitely be affected quite badly. But you can’t attribute this to only the film deals. The film deals are a result of the current situation which anyway renders malls and places of mass gathering redundant for a while. Disclaimer: TheSmallBigIdea is a party to some of these film deals/rollouts. The opinion might be biased. Karan Taurani, Vice President - Research Analyst, Elara Capital: I think it is a continued phenomenon. These are primarily small-budget movies which have been released directly on digital. None of the large films have announced any sort of digital release. This was an expected move -- nothing surprising on that. More announcements will follow as many films that were shot before the lockdown are going through the post-production work, these will be small-budget in nature. Usually OTT don’t pay a mark-up for more than 15-20% over the cost of production. However, now that they don’t have content right now, it is more of a desperate measure. They have given a very hefty premium to these movies to release directly on digital. So it is a win-win situation for the OTT platform and producers. But I think this trend is not sustainable once the cinema opens up. It will take a lot of time to come on-track after opening up but if it at all cinema occupancy comes back in place, I don’t think movies will go directly on digital.

You Searched For "pvr occupancies" and got 7 results

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