Sanjeev Kumar Bijli of PVR Inox Talks Hollywood Movies in India, Celebration Line-up, Ticket Prices and PVR Passport – Brand Wagon News

2023 has been a successful year at the box office by the numbers. As we enter a new financial year, we have witnessed a slew of English film releases. What are the expectations in terms of bringing audiences to theatres?

In the previous year, English cinema had seen notable success with releases such as Oppenheimer BarbieAnd Mission: Impossible. The momentum continued this year with the strong performance of Godzilla vs. Kong, indicating a promising lineup in the future. I was a bit apprehensive because of the strike last year. I thought we might not get many English movies, but there are a ton of movies scheduled for release including Ghostbusters, United, Crew, And Border areas. release Sand Dunes: Part Two It marks a successful start to the year for Hollywood films. Our accreditation The volume of Hollywood productions remains high, accounting for about 60-70% of our screenings due to our presence in many urban areas where English films are consumed. However, the proportion of Hollywood films within the Indian box office scene is seven to eight percent, and is likely to reach 10% in favorable years. This trend reflects a growing appetite for English-language cinema, which is fairly evident in urban areas. Moreover, small cities like Ahmedabad and Pune, which are a hub for college students, show a higher propensity to consume content in English.

With a number of releases scheduled for the weekend, what are your expectations from the holiday season this year?

Eid marks an important weekend in our calendar, similar to other major festivals like Diwali, Republic Day, or Independence Day, all of which are important in our cultural landscape. We are very lucky to have so many festivals in India. We expect a release Fieldfeaturing Ajay Devgn, whose recent successes include… Satan And Drishyam 2And they were both different types. in addition to, Badi mian chote mian Starring Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff, promises to be a masala film experience. We have high expectations for these two films as the films continue to reach new heights. We used to talk about Rs 100-crore films and Rs 200-crore films, and we have reached a point where films are generating box office receipts of Rs 500 crore. I think the box office was fairly buoyant again because Crew grossed Rs 200 crore and it was well received. We are seeing people returning to theaters in large numbers which indicates that the financial year has been off to a good start.

What challenge will the company face this year in terms of ticket prices and movie lineup?

Ticket prices will not rise significantly, but will likely keep pace with inflation, which is around four or five percent. However, we will charge additional fees for formats such as IMAX 4DX, ICE or Director’s Cut. Our challenge is to keep the content flowing. This year, the India-Hollywood line-up may not be as strong, but the South Indian line-up looks strong. last year. There has been a bit of a slump for South Indian films, but they are starting to pick up again. We are located in places like Chennai, Bengaluru and Trivandrum. We are opening new locations in Kochi and Bengaluru to keep up with the demand. We’ve noticed that a large portion of our business comes from the South, so we’re adding to our screen count there. However, it is uncertain which films will be a hit at the box office. crew It performed better than we expected, but others liked it fighter And donkey Didn’t quite hit the mark. There is a struggle to keep the film pipeline strong and make sure it resonates with audiences.

What is your plan for South India in terms of creating premium properties?

In Tamil Nadu, there is a price cap that prevents us from implementing a premium due to restrictions on ticket pricing. However, in Chennai, we have launched two IMAX theaters, while Bengaluru has a variety of formats including IMAX, 4DX, Lux and Gold. The ‘Director’s Cut’ format was inaugurated in Bengaluru last year. Although there are price restrictions in Hyderabad, we are launching IMAX. We are in the process of evaluating locations and cinemas to open our first IMAX theater. We will soon be launching IMAX in Kochi while we have one in Trivandrum. Since IMAX installations require a significant investment, ticket prices fluctuate between Rs 400 to Rs 550, with most IMAX formats being located in cities or urban areas where consumers show a tendency to invest in such experiences.

I recently made changes to my subscription product – PVR passport. How did the product perform after the changes were made?

We have reintroduced the offer at Rs 349, which is valid for a month from Monday to Thursday, across major regions in India. Previously, a few South Indian markets were excluded from this product. However, we have revised our strategy to expand the product to most regions of India. The response has been very encouraging, with approximately 80,000 to 90,000 units sold since its launch. The initiative has proven successful, as evidenced by the large subscriber base. The response from customers has been positive with the offer value of Rs 349 being called a ‘steal’.

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