Interview: Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, executive director, PVR INOX

The box office performance of Dhurandhar: The Revenge has been nothing short of spectacular. How are you planning to sustain the momentum till the Diwali season of big releases?

The movie surpassed our expectation and has crossed `1,400 crore in box office collections. This was a blockbuster the industry needed and it’s a welcome success for PVR INOX as well. Border 2 did fairly well but it wasn’t a blockbuster, so Dhurandhar 2 has changed the outlook for this quarter significantly.
Looking ahead to the summer months and beyond, we have a slew of upcoming movie releases such as Bhoot Bangla, Raja Shivaji, the Sunny Deol-starrer Gabru, and Pati Patni aur Woh 2. Several big Hollywood releases are also slated June onwards such as Disclosure Day, Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and The Devil Wears Prada 2. So things are looking good well beyond the April-May window.

While footfalls have been improving year-on-year, occupancy hasn’t reached pre-pandemic levels. What steps are you taking to boost occupancy?

We’re doing a lot to boost occupancy. Pricing is one tool — we have introduced Blockbuster Tuesdays, where audiences can watch a film for `99, helping us bring in price-sensitive consumers. We also have special offers in association with different banks, as well as offers on certain weekdays for specific consumer groups such as senior citizens, students and women. This allows us to reach larger audiences across demographics throughout the week. We’re clocking in around 28% occupancy, but we’re also conscious that we need to align our costs. We had a cost structure pre-pandemic that supported an occupancy of 32%. We have brought down our variable costs to a large degree, which allows us to stay profitable at 28% occupancy.

How big a challenge is OTT consumption, considering movies are often released on these platforms within weeks of their theatrical run?

I have always said that going to the cinemas will never go out of fashion. Over the last century or so, the cinema business has faced threats from other forms of movie consumption such as television, VHS, DVDs, VCDs, etc. It is true that during the pandemic with cinemas shut, OTT platforms had a clear advantage but now we are seeing a structural change again. 

Movie release windows on OTT are at eight weeks now, and not just in the North but also in the South where the windows were previously shorter. Plus, there are very few movies releasing directly on OTT now because the streamers consciously want the movies to have a theatrical run. After all, the response at the box office determines if they will buy the movie and at what price. 

Another trend we have seen is that streaming platforms are also focusing more on long-form shows than movies. So, audiences are still largely choosing to watch movies in cinemas.

You recently opened new screens in Delhi and Agra. What are your expansion plans for the new fiscal?

We opened new multiplexes in Delhi and Agra just ahead of the Dhurandhar 2 release. In fact, Agra is a new market for us. During FY26, we opened around 96 screens across metros, and tier-I and II cities in the country. Around 44% of these have been in the South, 28% in the North and 20% in the West. We’re currently at around 1,800 screens in the country. In FY27, we plan to open another 100-110 screens, which will be a mix of tier-I, II  and III cities.

How much of your revenue comes from F&B and cinema advertising?

F&B contributes around 30 to 35% of our total revenue. Since last year, we have been working on tweaking our menu mix to cater to different demographics and markets. While it is an important revenue source, it is also an integral part of the moviegoer’s experience. We are also selling our F&B like popcorn, nachos and hotdogs via Swiggy and Zomato, and are seeing a good response from the consumers. 

We’re also creating what we call OTCs or outside-the-cinema counters, where our offerings are available at events, cricket matches, etc. Additionally, we have developed in-house brands such as Dogfather, our hotdog brand and Crosta, our gourmet food brand. Cinema advertising has also played an important role in revenue growth, adding around 10% to our topline. We have seen cinema advertising return to pre-pandemic levels now, and are offering brands a variety of inventory options in addition to our screens. These include our foyers and digital platforms like our app. We want to ensure that our audiences wouldn’t have to watch too many commercials, which could possibly compromise their movie-going experience.