In line with the hysteria surrounding Wednesday?s India-Pakistan World Cup semifinal clash at Mohali, which is touted as the ?mother of all battles?, multiplexes are leaving no stone unturned to bring cricket-crazy crowds to the big screens. Major movie exhibitors, including Inox, PVR, Cinemax and Big Cinemas, which witnessed a 30-40% drop in footfalls during the cricket season, are showing the match live, across 150-200 screens in nearly 30 locations in the country.
Cinemax is going all out to leverage the opportunity, with shows planned at almost all cities in which it has a presence. Sunil Punjabi, CEO, Cinemax says, ?We have approximately 29,000 seats in 60 screens across India, out of which 51 screens with 15,000 seats have already been sold out for the match. Tickets are priced between R150-900 depending on the location, with average pricing at R450. In some metros, we are offering a food-wine-match combo package to provide a complete experience to the viewer.?
PVR Cinemas, which has been the sole multiplex chain to have screened all matches of the tournament, has reportedly inked a 50:50 revenue-sharing deal with official broadcaster ESS (ESPN Star Sports). It is showcasing the Indo-Pak match in six cities namely Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Delhi NCR, Lucknow, Allahabad and Ludhiana, with tickets priced between R350-400. Gautam Dutta, CEO, Cinemedia, PVR says, ?There has been a huge upswing in the interest levels for the World Cup, with a virtual final like playoff between Indian and Pakistan. Some of our centres such as Ahmedabad had seen 100% occupancies during the India-Australia quarter finals. We expect our cinemas to have very high level of occupancies in the semis and hope to generate robust revenue.?
Reliance-owned BIG Cinemas has selected five screens in Delhi and Ahmedabad to show the match. Archana Jhangiani, head of brand and marketing, Big Cinemas says, ?We?ve selected these cities based on consumer demand, and are packaging the show with freebies, scratch cards and other promotional offers. Tickets are priced at R250 per innings.?
Inox Leisure, the country?s largest multiplex chain with 239 screens, plans to show the match in the cities of Baroda, Nagpur and Jaipur, said a spokesperson from the company. However, no screening has been scheduled in south India due to lack of demand.
Multiplexes believe that a semi-final of this magnitude will provide a revenue boost to them, compensating in some way for the lost footfalls during the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2010-11. Punjabi adds, ?This match is a shot in the arm for multiplexes. Cricket has eaten up into our revenues in Q4. This is a huge opportunity for us to fill up the empty seats.?