Multiplexes see record admissions this weekend; gross box office collection nears Rs 400 crore

Last weekend (August 11 to 12) multiplexes and cinema halls witnessed a record number of admissions driven by movies such as 'Gadar 2', 'Jailer', 'OMG 2' and 'Bhola Shankar', boosting their combined gross box office collection to over Rs 390 crore. This weekend set a "new all-time theatrical gross box office record" in its 100 years of history, said a joint statement from the Multiplex Association of India (MAI) and Producers Guild of India (PGI). "The weekend drew over 2.10 crore moviegoers to theatres across the county, which is the highest combined admissions record in the last 10 years of history," it said.

The weekend of August 11 to 13 was the busiest single weekend post-re-opening of the cinema industry after the Covid pandemic. "The turnout at theatres has infused a new energy in our industry, audiences are responding in numbers. We have not seen for a very long time, even the early morning shows are getting sold out," said PGI President Shibasish Sarkar. He further said: "This weekend has been a wonderful experience for people who love the mainstream cinemas." MAI President Kamal Gianchandani said this was a "historic weekend" for the cinema exhibition industry and it proves once again that India loves to go to movie halls to watch good movies. "This weekend is also an undeniable demonstration of cinemas being the ultimate place to be part of shared experience," he said.

Gianchandani further added he expects this momentum to continue for the rest of 2023. MAI represents more than 11 cinema chains, operating over 500 multiplexes and 2,500 screens in India, which is around 75 per cent of the multiplex industry of India. PGI is a premier association of film, television and digital content producers in India. The cinema exhibition industry underwent financial distress during Covid. The operation was suspended for over a year during the pandemic due to safety precautions. It was severely hit by the restrictions. Later in early 2021, it was allowed to run at half capacity only with several riders, which financially impacted the industry further.

The industry had to face those restrictions after the successive waves of the pandemic in some regions also. Moreover, in the absence of theatrical premiers, several producers had also started to move towards OTT platforms. However, the industry fought back with a good content pipeline.