Lack of new content forces single screen theaters to close

Furthermore, the fear of infection among viewers during the current Omicron wave is causing zero attendance in some cases, forcing shows to be canceled over several days. Trade experts say that even though small budget films minus big stars are releasing in the Telugu and Tamil industries, there is little among the audience.

In the absence of new films, even the cost of running a small theater 4.5 lakhs per month, may become crippled.

Pranav Garg, managing director of Maya Palace, a two-screen theater in Muzaffarnagar, said, “Everyone is in a state of complete panic and is contemplating whether to shut down their cinemas or continue running.” Garg’s business has been hit as no new Hindi films are being released late last month after Delhi’s cinemas were shut down and other states imposed stringent restrictions like night curfew and 50% seating cap.

Garg said he had received many questions for SS Rajamouli’s Telugu period drama RRR Which was supposed to release on January 7 with a Hindi dub, but was later postponed. He said these delays have pushed the exhibition business back several steps after a brief revamp.

Praveen Chalikwar, director of Preeti Cinemas in Parbani, Maharashtra, agrees with Allu Arjun Pushpa saw a great run but 5-10 lakhs that his theater earned with the screening of the film, along with other recent titles such as a Salman Khan production final – final truth and John Abraham-starrer Satyamev Jayate 2, license renewal and fixed electricity charges. Chalikwar is now relying on smaller Hollywood and Marathi films whose producers can agree to release them in theatres, regardless of restrictions and restrictions. “We’ll just have to wait and see,” he said.

Independent trade analyst Sridhar Pillai said the situation in North India may be worrying, but cinemas in the South are also being kept alive artificially, as there is no real content to play. It is common for multiplexes to run only three out of six screens on a given property and while evening and night shows have been affected by the curfew anyway, many cinemas are voluntarily skipping afternoon shows.

A slew of short, non-star films released in Tamil Nadu last week, including New Sekar, Kombu Vatcha Singamada, Ana Sola Pogirai And Carbon, with little traction. On the other hand, in Andhra Pradesh, cinemas have been embroiled in a major row with the government, which has reduced the slab on ticket prices to a minimum. 5 for some non-AC cinemas.

“Cinema can only make a comeback with big hero films,” Pillai said.