A slate of flop Bollywood films have hit India’s top cinemas hard, forcing the industry to rely heavily on the current festive quarter to revive its fortunes.
The country’s top multiplex operators, Inox and PVR, which reported results this week, both blamed lack of good content for the slowdown in Q2 performance, and said they are betting on the third quarter to help them grow. to get back on track.
“The third quarter is crucial (for companies),” said Karan Taurani, an analyst at Elara Capital.
Audiences have traditionally flocked to cinemas during India’s busy festival season, culminating in the Hindu festival of Diwali, which will be celebrated on Monday.
Producers save the biggest films of the year for Diwali releases, and while the industry expects them to do well during this period, it may not be as festive this year.
“and also Q3 ReleaseFilmmaker and trade analyst Girish Johar said, the response they are getting is somewhat muted and overwhelming, which happens during the festive season.
Analysts at domestic brokerage and research firm Nirmal Bang said occupancy rate at Inox was 17% for the quarter, PVR was 24%, blaming weak attendance on “poor consumer engagement with content released in Q2”.
In the first quarter, Inox reported an occupancy rate of 29%, while PVR said it had a 33.6% rate in the same period.
The two chains are set to merge in an all-stock deal and become the largest exhibition company in the country with 1,546 screens in 109 cities.
Inox Chief Executive Alok Tandon said in an earnings call on Wednesday, “We all know that occupancy is related to the content that we are showing. And we have some big challenges in terms of content in the second quarter.”
Moreover, the rise of streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime during the COVID pandemic has added to the growing fatigue of Bollywood among the younger generation, who see many of its films as outdated and out of fashion.
“Ram Setu” (Lord Ram’s Bridge) and “Thank God” are the two main Bollywood releases scheduled for next week, both starring actors who have proved to be box office hits in the past.
This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed.
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