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Theatres function with 100% occupancy: Is it the end of the two-year catastrophe?

ByTitas Chowdhury
Mar 08, 2022 07:06 PM IST

As cinema houses run with full capacity, we speak to exhibitors and producers as they heave a sigh of relief

After suffering immeasurable losses over the past two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, cinema houses, after running in fits and starts, were finally permitted by the government of India to operate with 100% occupancy in Maharashtra, Delhi, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh. Needless to say, it brought a wave of joy and relief to people across the film fraternity.

With film budget films like RRR, Radhe Shyam, Etharkkum Thunindhavan, Bachchhan Paandey and Runway 34 lined up for release, producers and exhibitors anticipate huge footballs in the upcoming months (Photo: Sunil Ghosh / Hindustan Times)
With film budget films like RRR, Radhe Shyam, Etharkkum Thunindhavan, Bachchhan Paandey and Runway 34 lined up for release, producers and exhibitors anticipate huge footballs in the upcoming months (Photo: Sunil Ghosh / Hindustan Times)

Producer Amar Butala believes that the upcoming line-up of films like Bachchhan Paandey and Runway 34 will bring in a large number of audience to theatres. “It’s a welcome sign for both producers and the exhibition sector, now that major theatrical markets for Hindi language films now are at 100%. This period also has two big extended holiday weekends of – Holi and Eid - which will mean more footfalls in cinemas,” he explains.

BH Basha, an exhibitor based in Karnataka, believes that the complete opening up of theaters in south India is particularly happy news and anticipates that the release of pan-India films like RRR, Radhe Shyam and Etharkkum Thunindhavan will help improve the financial state of the exhibition sector: “It’s true that all five states in the south immensely contribute to film business. But my fear is that people have stopped wearing masks, thinking that the pandemic is over. In a situation like this, I can only hope that 100% occupancy status of theatres continues.”

Rajender Jyala, CPO, Inox Leisure Limited, is confident that 2022 will prove to be one of the biggest years for the film and exhibition industries. “We always thought that we can recover losses but this is the fastest recovery we’re witnessing. Maharashtra theatres being allowed full occupancy is a great sign since it’s a territory that contributes the most to film revenues,” he says.

For producer Anand Pandit, the pandemic proved to be a dampener for the movie-going audience too. He adds, “We’ve already had a few blockbusters since theatres began to open and every exhibitor, distributor and producer is hoping that the pandemic does not throw another spanner in the works to impair the progress that has been made.”

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Catch every big hit, every wicket with Crickit, a one stop destination for Live Scores, Match Stats, Infographics & much more. Explore now!.

Get more updates from Bollywood, Taylor Swift, Hollywood, Music and Web Series along with Latest Entertainment News at Hindustan Times.
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