Multiplexes get the go-ahead, but dark cloud still hangs over silver screen

Filmmakers are not expected to be in a hurry to release movies in the October-November period, implying the quarter will hardly come to the rescue of theatre owners

The show must go on. Or so we were given to believe. The last six months have, however, demonstrated how terribly the show can get interrupted. After half a year of movie halls staying shut, the cinema industry has finally got the Centre’s go-ahead to resume screenings. But it’s easier said than done.

Though the cinemas have welcomed the home ministry’s decision to lift the curbs and allow theatres to reopen from October 15, the battle is hardly over.

As many as seven states are yet to give their assent to the home ministry’s guidelines. Maharashtra has already indicated that it will not permit movie halls to reopen in October. The state has extended the lockdown till the end of the month. Other states such as Delhi, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are yet to indicate their stand clearly, industry sources say.

"We are in discussions with representatives of these states. We are hoping that between now and October 15, some of these states will review their decision," says P V Sunil, managing director of multiplex chain Carnival Cinemas. "While Covid-19 concerns will be there, life has to move now. It is better to look ahead than behind," he adds.

In a statement, the Multiplex Association of India said permission from all states would go a long way in ensuring the film exhibition business recovers from the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which is estimated at Rs 1,500 crore a month.

Of the 9,600 screens in India, 70 per cent are single screens and 30 per cent are multiplex screens. But multiplexes earn more than half of India’s theatrical revenues, putting the pressure on them to ensure that safety, hygiene and content standards are met.

Another challenge would be getting new film content in October, says Karan Taurani, vice president, research, Elara Capital. Maharashtra, for instance, accounts for a fifth of the total revenue of PVR and Inox, analysts tracking the market says. Both chains are key multiplex operators with a presence across the country.

Filmmakers, too, are not expected to be in a hurry to release movies in the October-November period, implying the quarter will hardly come to the rescue of theatre owners, whether multiplex or single screen. 

Blockbusters such as Sooryavanshi, starring Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif, Lal Singh Chaddha, starring Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan, and 83, featuring Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, were eyeing the December quarter for a likely release. But Sooryavanshi may be the only big film to look forward to in the quarter, though some experts say that 83, too, may target an end-of-the-year release.

Tough time for single screens

The weeks ahead look tough for single-screen theatres as well, which were as it is struggling to survive before the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown dealt them another blow.

“We’ve come a long way from those houseful times, when people would even buy tickets in black,” reminisces Sanjay Hiralal Vasawa, a consultant at Edward Theatre on Kalbadevi Road, Mumbai. Opened in 1914 and named after King Edward V, who visited Mumbai that year, this is one of the city’s oldest theatres. 

“Multiplexes will rush to play Sooryavanshi the moment it releases. There is such a dearth of content,” he says. “Besides, everyone has the choice of watching those six-hour web series on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video instead of going to a movie hall."

It is a seller’s market now, he adds, “and movie theatres will run after producers and distributors”.

“New movies don’t come to us the moment they release,” says Fred Poonawala, managing partner, Edward Theatre. “We usually screen second round or third round movies.” He is not worried about the problem of social distancing in his theatre, “since we rarely have a full audience”.

Vasawa agrees. Single-screen cinemas such as this one will play older films that did well, such as Tanhaji starring Ajay Devgan. “We have to do everything we can to get the audiences back,” he says. “As it is, numbers fell by some 40 per cent after we increased the ticket price for the balcony seat from Rs 20 to Rs 30 last December.”