Theatre owners stare at empty halls

After a chronic shutdown as a result of COVID-19 pandemic, theatres have acquired a lukewarm reception from audiences once they opened their doorways on November 10.

A senior govt of a well known multiplex chain in India stated solely 25 tickets per present had been being offered on common in Chennai, whereas a number of single-screen theatre executives reported that the footfalls had been as little as 20%-25% of the full seats allowed to be offered by the State authorities.

“We could only sell 25 tickets per show on average. We hope that the release of Christopher Nolan’s Tenet and Wonder Woman in December and the positive news about the arrival of vaccines will make a difference in the coming months,” stated the chief of a multiplex.

While producers and theatre owners agree that solely films starring huge stars can convey again audiences, the truth that actor Nayanthara’s Mookuthi Amman and actor Suriya’s Soorarai Pottru launched instantly on OTT (over-the-top) platforms to beneficial critiques didn’t assist issues.

Now, the highlight is on actor Vijay’s Master, which is prepared for launch, although many within the trade admit that releasing the movie within the current scenario wouldn’t be economically viable.

‘Catch-22 situation’

G. Dhananjayan, vice-president, Tamil Film Active Producers Association, stated, “It is a catch-22 situation for us. Movies starring big stars cannot be released unless the present occupancy rate of 50% is increased. It wouldn’t be economically viable. We hope that by Pongal, the situation becomes normal and the occupancy is increased by the government.”

While there have been rumours on Friday that Master would launch on an OTT platform, the producers of the movie, in an announcement, stated they like to launch the film in theatres.

Hariharan, the supervisor of one of many oldest and well-known cinema homes in Ashok Nagar, stated, “The theatres could have planned the reopening better. If we had opened with a movie starring somebody big, it would have brought back audiences. Now, we are selling anywhere between 80-100 tickets out of the 400-odd tickets in our main screen. People also don’t seem to spend money in the canteen”

While the producers of big-budget films are in a repair, this example could possibly be utilized by small and medium finances films, say theatre owners. Ruban Mathivanan, managing companion, GK Cinemas, stated, “Smaller movies would anyway struggle to bring in more than 50% of the crowd. They should release their films when no big movies are lined up. The argument made by the producers of big-budget movies that they will not be able to recoup the money invested with 50% occupancy does not hold true for smaller movies.”