Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva release and its impact on multiplexes PVR and INOX Leisure – what should investors know?

On the back of weak critic reviews of much awaited big budget Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva, the listed multiplexes chain – PVR Limited and INOX Leisure have seen a negative impact on the exchanges as their share price dipped on the release day of Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt Starrer movie.

Giving a one-word review of Disappointing! Trade analyst Taran Adarsh has given a mere two out of five stars to Brahmastra. He said, “Brahmāstra is a king-sized disappointment… High on VFX, low on content [second half nosedives].”

“Brahmāstra could’ve been a game changer, but, alas, it’s a missed opportunity… All gloss, no soul,” the trade analyst added in his review on Twitter.

Similarly, another film critic Anupama Chopra of Film Companion while sharing an 8-minute review video of Brahmastra said, “Grand ambition. Staggering VFX. Tepid script.”

“There are oodles of talent, money, and sweat in every frame of Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva directed by Ayan Mukerji with a budget of over Rs 400 crore, starring Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna & Mouni Roy,” as per to Film Companion’s Brahmastra review.

Back-to-back flops of Hindi movies in somewhat big blow to the multiplexes and in this PVR Cinemas and INOX are larger them of all. Big flicks like 'Laal Singh Chaddha', 'Liger', 'Shamshera', 'Samrat Prithviraj', and now ‘Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva’ have led down the multiplexes’ expectations.

Shares of PVR Limited slumped over 5 per cent to Rs 1834.15 and Rs 1833 per share on the BSE and NSE, respectively; similarly, shares of INOX Leisure also dipped by around 5 per cent to Rs 494.4 and Rs 494.9 per share on the BSE and NSE respectively on Friday.

On March 27, PVR and Inox Leisure announced the merger to create the largest multiplex chain in the country with a network of more than 1,500 screens to unlock the opportunities in tier III, IV, and V cities, besides in the developed markets.

The combined entity will be named PVR INOX Ltd with the branding of existing screens to continue as PVR and INOX. New cinemas opened post the merger will be branded as PVR INOX, the companies had said.