Fun Cinemas aims to have over 1,500 screens by 2011

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Chandigarh, Feb 14: E-City Ventures promoted Fun Cinemas, is aiming to reach the mark of 1,500 screens across India by 2011. New screens will be added in three formats comprising multiplex, digital screen and talkie town (single screen). Talking to FE, Vishal Kapur, chief operating officer, Fun Cinemas said, "At present we have 53 operational screens in multiplexes and talkie towns. We are planning to take the 110 digital screens to 1,000 screens with an investment of over Rs 200 crore in the next four years. An investment of about Rs 500-600 crore is kept aside for multiplexes and more single screens will also be added."

The company on Thursday launched its new multiplex in Ambala spread over 21,600 sq ft with an investment of Rs 4.5 crore. Two more multiplexes are slated to be launched soon. Kapur added, "New multiplexes at Chembur and Gwalior are in the pipeline and will be launched soon. We will be signing about 200-250 screens this year, which will help us expand pan India. We have already signed additional 150 screens in approximately 24 cities which are likely to be operational by 2009. We have recently entered the entertainment markets of Chandigarh, Panipat, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Gulbarga, Agra, Lucknow and Ambala. New ventures are planned at Kota, Gwalior, Ujjain, Bhopal and Mumbai. We have also signed properties for multiplexes in Punjab in Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Baddi and single screens in Patiala, Bathinda, Muktsar and Abohar. These are expected to be functional over the next two years."

Fun Cinemas will strengthen their presence in the Southern states through digital and single screens. "Since a major hub for our screens is Andhra Pradesh with 15 digital screens at present, now we'll be expanding in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. We have registered a growth of about 176% in last one year and it's expected to continue with set up of new screens," said Kapur.