75 Rs. Tickets Policy Brings The Housefull Boards Back Across The Nation; Will It Change The Future Of Box Office?

Today, India will celebrate National Cinema Day at the movies. The entire nation is delighted to celebrate cinema with reduced ticket prices in theatres. PVR, Inox and other cinema chains declared 75 Rs. tickets for this Friday, September 23rd, and moviegoers are rushing into cinema halls in big numbers.

The housefull boards are back. Multiplex ticket prices are usually too high for middle-class families, so they prefer single-screen theaters. But many old and well-known single-screen cinemas shut during the pandemic and never got back. The average ticket prices at national multiplex chains are above 160 Rs. for Friday, and then there is a subsequent hike on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. But on the 23rd September, i.e., today, it is almost 3 times lower.

The films are running to packed houses today in all the Hindi belts. Brahmastra crossed 1 lakh ticket sales yesterday for the Friday shows, and the same happened with Chup. The R. Balki's thriller registered an advanced booking of over 1,25,000 tickets on Book My Show. James Cameron's Avatar is re-releasing today, and the global blockbuster is also enjoying great footfalls today. Other films like Dhokha: Round D Corner, Sita Ramam are also showing good occupancies.

Now this is the right time to ask this question: Should multiplexes reduce the ticket rates? Today's rush has proved that audiences are ready to come to cinema halls if ticket prices are affordable. Multiplexes usually have an ATP (average ticket price) of 160 Rs. on Friday and 200 Rs. on Sunday, which is not affordable for any middle class family. A family of four people will cost the man/woman about 800 Rs. on ticket purchase (that's the minimum amount) and about 1000 Rs. on food beverages as the multiplexes sell Popcorn, Samosa, Cold Drinks and Water at higher rates than the ticket prices. But today, a middle class family of 4 members can enjoy the movie at 300 Rs, which amounts to 1 person's purchase on normal days. Luckily, the popcorn and drink combo is available for 99 Rs. This is the time to make a decision that can change the future of the box office. Cinema owners, are you listening?