With footfalls rebounding and a strong content pipeline, PVR INOX is seeing renewed momentum in India’s theatrical exhibition space. From Rs 99 weekday deals and AI-led engagement to a measured rollout of formats like IMAX and 4DX, the company is adapting to evolving moviegoing habits across metros and beyond. Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, executive director, PVR INOX, spoke to Geetika Srivastava about what’s driving admissions in 2025 and how the company is balancing scale with strategy across content, formats, and F&B. Edited excerpts:
How are footfalls trending across PVR INOX properties nationwide, and what factors are driving audience turnout in 2025?
Q1 footfall has been very encouraging. We had 34 million people visiting cinemas this quarter, as opposed to 30 million in Q1 last year — a growth of 12%. This increase is primarily due to the strong movie line-up we had in April, May, and June.
June, in particular, was dominated by several Hollywood films such as F1, Superman, and Jurassic World. This period typically sees the release of Hollywood’s summer blockbusters, and each of these titles performed well, earning around Rs 100 crore at the Indian box office.
On the domestic front, we had Sitaare Zameen Par, Housefull 5, and Raid 2, all of which grossed over Rs 200 crore. These films truly resonated with audiences, contributing significantly to the rise in footfall. The Hindi film industry has bounced back and is now delivering a variety of content that is performing strongly at the box office.
Are we seeing fewer big-ticket tentpole releases anchoring the calendar? How is PVR adapting its content and revenue strategy accordingly?
Yes, Saiyaraa, for instance, surprised us. We had estimated around 3 lakh people, but we are now at 50 lakh customers — that’s over 15 times more than we projected, and the numbers are still growing.
That’s the beauty and unpredictability of this business: you never know what might become a hit. The films you bet big on may not perform as expected, while the ones you think might not have arms and legs end up becoming blockbusters.
We are in the business of playing all kinds of films across our 1,750 screens nationwide, whether Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, regional, or Punjabi.
We saw Aamir Khan opting to release Sitaare Zameen Par directly on YouTube. Do you think this is a one-off or a sign of a deeper trend in the OTT industry, and does it pose a challenge for PVR?
First of all, we are all extremely grateful to Aamir for taking such a bold step. I think it’s a very progressive move that reflects his commitment to the theatrical format, and it has paid off, with the movie doing over ₹200 crore.
Whether other producers will follow suit, I’m not sure. But this has been extremely supportive for the cinema industry because the film did not go to OTT.
Globally, the theatrical window is a key concern for exhibitors. It’s not necessarily about movies being released on OTT platforms, but about ensuring that proper windows are maintained. In India, the window is just eight weeks.
In contrast, countries like France — which support the theatrical business because it generates both revenue and employment — maintain much longer windows of up to four, five, or even six months. That’s something we should move towards if we want to protect theatres.
Premium formats such as IMAX and 4DX are gaining popularity. How significant are they in driving footfall and is there a strategy for their expansion beyond metro cities?
With IMAX, we currently have about 8–9 screens, and we plan to add 4–5 more by the end of this financial year. It’s a format that is gaining popularity and is the preferred choice for Hollywood films like Oppenheimer, Superman, and Fantastic Four.
We’re expanding IMAX screens—not aggressively, but judiciously—because there are certain markets where this format doesn’t perform as well. The markets where it does work are largely metropolitan, English-speaking, and English-consuming cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru.
So, we are cautiously promoting and expanding the format, which is also quite expensive. As for 4DX, we already have around 20 installations and plan to add 10 more this year.
How are you leveraging your F&B business as a revenue stream? Are you planning any new offerings?
F&B contributes about 30% of our revenues. We continuously adapt the sales mix depending on the regions we operate in. For instance, we offer discounts and run Rs 99 bestseller deals from Monday to Thursday. We also have refill days on weekends. There is a strong focus on improving quality and partnering with better suppliers, so that the variety and taste of our F&B offerings reflect a premium experience.
What is the outlook for the coming year and is there any significant development in the works?
The pipeline of films is very strong. July performed well, with Saiyaara and the sleeper hit Mahavatar Narsimha. Son of Sardaar 2 also did very well. Param Sundari, War 2, and Coolie make August look promising, and we have Thama releasing around Diwali. The film line-up is exceptionally strong and is expected to drive admissions over the next two quarters.
We’ve also introduced a very successful initiative — the Rs 99 Tuesday offer — which we launched 4–5 weeks ago and has now become a permanent feature. It has significantly boosted admissions; we’re now seeing 4–5 lakh people on Tuesdays, compared to just 1–1.5 lakh earlier.
We’re actively pushing our digital platforms (the app and website) to attract more customers and offer hyper-personalised deals. On the technology front, we’re deploying AI to both engage customers and enhance their experience. We’re also exploring how AI can help reduce operational costs across the organisation.