Global multiplex chain Cinepolis plans to open about 500 screens across 40 cities in India at an investment of around Rs 1,500 crore by 2016, a top company official said.
The Mexico-based international film exhibitor that runs the megaplex format of cinema complexes, plans to open a similar format in India with each megaplex featuring about 14 screens in a single complex. Each screen would be of 8,000 sq ft area.
"We plan to revolutionise the megaplex concept in India by providing international standards of movie viewing. Our plan is to open about 500 screens across the country and build the megaplexes in malls only. We have tied-up with several mall owners for about 250 screens that will be coming up in the next 12 months," Cinepolis India's Country Head and Managing Director Milan Saini told PTI on the sidelines of the India Retail Forum here.
Cinépolis is the biggest cineplex chain in Mexico with 205 theatres in 65 cities and the largest chain in Latin America with 230 theatres, 2,160 screens and over 13,000 employees throughout Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Brazil and Peru.
The company has already opened a small format with four screens in Amritsar and will be opening its first megaplex with 14 screens in Thane's Vivacity Mall, said to be the largest mall in the country, by next year.
Following this will be another 15-screen megaplex at Magarpatta Mall in Pune.
Cinepolis plans to open 80 screens in megaplexes at locations such as Thane, Bangalore, Jaipur, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Surat, Patna and Pune over the next 12 months, Saini said.
"India is still underserved with about 900 screens for about 1.2 billion people, whereas in the developed countries such as US, the ratio is 40,000 screens for 300 million people. We want to provide world-class experience to the cinegoers at an affordable price," Saini said.
The plan is to open about 20 screens by the end of this year, he said.
On the pricing of its tickets, Saini said, "Pricing depends on location and screen size. For a small format it would be around Rs 80-150, whereas the VIP formats would be around Rs 500 or above."
Large format megaplexes allow more titles to be played and titles to stay in theatres for a longer first run, Saini said, adding that a megaplex can run about 70 shows per day offering viewers an unprecedented flexibility in choice of films and show timings.
