Theatre owners, producers and distributors are trying to tempt more viewers with cheaper tickets in the wake of repeated box-office failures that has scalded the industry this year. The rethink follows the success with pricing tickets at ₹75 on National Cinema Day last month, that attracted 6.5 million to the movie halls.
Cinema tickets now cost an average ₹350-450, or even higher, depending on the property and show timing, which film trade analysts said is steep for an average consumer.
On the agenda is variable pricing for small and mid-budget films, including for evening and night shows as well as weekends preferred by young professionals. The move should work for the mid-scale Hindi films releasing in the coming months. Food and beverage rates too are expected to see revisions, after consumer complaints around expensive food options at cinemas.
After films like Brahmastra and Chup: Revenge of the Artist selling tickets for Rs. 100 last month as an experiment, Ajay Devgn’s Drishyam 2 scheduled for November has offered a 50% discount for opening day tickets booked on 2 October. Meanwhile, Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Goodbye released last Friday offered tickets for ₹150 on opening day.
While a ticket priced at ₹75 may not be a long-term solution, exhibitors, distributors and producers could come up with a sweet spot in terms of pricing. The ₹75 ticket experiment was a big learning for theatre owners who reported occupancies of as high as 90% in some locations. On National Cinema Day, superhero flick Brahmastra made Rs. 8.50 crore. The Ranbir Kapoor-starrer clocked in almost 1.4 million admissions, only 20-25% below its first-day admissions, according to trade website Box Office India. Even smaller scale films like Chup and Dhokha- Round D Corner managed Rs. 3.06 crore and Rs. 1.25 crore respectively on National Cinema Day which was also their first day of release.
