The Indian film industry has bounced back in terms of volumes, with the India box office numbers reaching Rs 12,000 crore compared to Rs 10,000-11,000 crore pre-Covid levels, Ajay Bijli, managing director, PVR INOX, said.
A total of 900 million tickets were sold in the two years after Covid-19 in the country. India has recovered much better than any other country, and it was the only country in the world where box office collections exceeded pre-Covid collections, Bijli said.
“We have not gone back to pre-Covid levels in terms of volumes, but in terms of value, we have,” Bijli said. It is a cyclical phenomenon and not a structural one, so the industry would bounce back, he added.
Bijlee was in Pune to unveil PVR INOX’s super-premium format, Director’s Cut cinema and ICE theatres at the KOPA Mall in Pune. This will be a seven-screen multiplex and for the first time, house two luxury cinema formats, five Director’s Cut auditoriums and one immersive ICE theatre, in a multiplex. It will also have one mainstream theatre.
The premium screens account for 14% of all the screens in the country and the company was aspiring to grow this to 20%. PVR had added 300 screens post-Covid.
There were demand-side changes, with people getting used to sitting at home, and this consumer was taking time to return, he said. The company was working on getting back both value-conscious customers with offers like the Rs 349 passport offer and service-conscious premium customers back to the theatres. The company had a screen at different price points, ranging from Rs 100 to Rs 1,500 and wanted all the market segments to return.
People have home theatres, plasma and reclining chairs and everything at their disposal, and yet they want to come out and enjoy the big screen experience, he said. According to Bijli, people had not stopped coming, but the frequency had come down. If the movies are there and the infrastructure is there, people would come back, he said.
Around 300 million people had come to PVR Cinema alone. “There is an insatiable appetite for people to come out and watch movies,” Bijli said. He felt there was room for both OTT platforms and big cinema to co-exist. Movie-going was becoming more experiential, and it has to be exponentially different from watching movies at home.
The supply side of the industry was impacted by Covid and then the big Hollywood strike with the stoppage in shooting leading to a lag in the supply of movies. FY26 and FY27 will see a tremendous increase in supply. He expects Hollywood would bounce back, South films would do well, and the Hindi film industry would recover. Hollywood accounts for around 40-45% of PVR INOX.
About the new property in the city, Bijli said Pune’s vibrant and dynamic culture, rich heritage, cosmopolitan charm and rich understanding of cinematic artistry made it the perfect backdrop for their newest venture at the KOPA Mall.
The new property in Pune accommodates 751 guests, serving the high-end catchment area in Pune. It augments PVR INOX’s foothold in Maharashtra with 277 screens in 55 cinemas. The company consolidates its presence in West India to 367 screens in 79 cinemas. PVR INOX has brought the Gatsby gourmet dining and restaurant to the new multiplex.
Directors’ Cut comes with ultra-plush auditoriums, world-class projection and surround sound, completely reclaimable armchairs with pillows and blankets, a personal attendant call system, an in-seat food and beverage menu, and luxurious lounges.
The ICE IMMERSIVE features LED panels on each side of the auditorium. These fill the moviegoer’s peripheral vision with supplementary ambient colours and shapes while complementing the action on the main screen.