 "Cinema, Movies")
At the time when the silver screen is facing a fierce competition from streaming devices, cinephiles are rediscovering their love for a theatre experience. Thousands of cinema lovers flocked to their nearest theatres on Friday to enjoy blockbusters at the affordable price of just ₹99.
Building on last year’s success, the Multiplex Association of India (MAI), in partnership with over 4,000 screens—including PVR-Inox, Cinepolis, Miraj Cinemas, MovieMax, Delite, and Wave—is offering movies at low rates to celebrate Cinema Lovers Day.
From Rajkumar Rao and Janhvi Kapoor-starrer Mr. & Mrs. Mahi and Savi featuring Anil Kapoor, Divya Khosla, and Harshvardhan Rane, to Manoj Bajpayee’s gripping Bhaiyya Ji, the lineup offers a wide variety of genres to choose from.
Moreover, the theatres also brought back beloved films like Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Veer-Zaara, Dil To Pagal Hai, and Rockstar in an attempt to lure more audiences.
PVR INOX told Business Standard that it is expecting over 700,000-800,000 people. “Our theatres are buzzing with excitement and anticipation. Mr. & Mrs. Mahi sold over 200,000 tickets,” said Gautam Dutta, chief executive officer, revenue and operations, PVR INOX.
Films like Haikyuu: The Dumpster Battle and Srikanth, are receiving an overwhelming response having sold over 25,000 and 20,000 tickets respectively, highlighting the broad appeal of anime and regional cinema, he added.
According to BookMyShow, regional movies such as Turbo (Malayalam), Thalavan (Malayalam), Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil (Malayalam), Naach ga Ghuma (Marathi), and Jhamkudi (Gujarati) are doing well among the audience.
Movie buffs are also enjoying the Hollywood sequel Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga starring Chris Hemsworth and Anya Taylor-Joy in lead roles. Apart from this, other Hollywood offerings include Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, The Garfield Movie, Kung Fu Panda 4, and IF.
Queries sent to Cinepolis, Miraj Cinemas, and Movie Max did not elicit a response until press time.
“Nation-wide initiatives promoting days like Cinema Lovers Day, inclusive of reduced-price offerings for films tend to witness a good response,” said Ashish Saksena, COO-Cinemas, BookMyShow. “These initiatives have added a definitive fillip to the successful run of films at the box office generating a spurt of interest and amplifying the buzz,” he added.
Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Pune, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Kochi, Kozhikode, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, and Patna emerged as the top cities to book tickets through BookMyShow on Friday.
While Mumbai has a strong lineup of 52 movies on offer, Delhi NCR is showcasing 41 movies, Bengaluru features 60 movies, and Pune has 45 movies. Tier-II and -III cities are also participating, with Ahmedabad showing 31 movies, Agra (13), Patna (13), Kochi (29), Lucknow (30), and Jaipur offering 27 movies.
Last year, MAI had recorded over 6 million people who visited the theatres to celebrate the National Cinema Day on October 13. It witnessed an unprecedented demand for movie tickets from audiences of all ages, and the country's cinema operators reported house-full shows throughout the day, making 13 October the second highest-attended day of 2023.
