PVR opens four-screen property in Patiala
1 min read 17 Jun 2022, 02:57 PM ISTThe 621-seater will make for the only multiplex in the city.
PremiumMultiplex chain PVR Cinemas has opened a four-screen property in Patiala, making its foray into the Punjab city. The 621-seater will make for the only multiplex in the city.
“The Punjabi film exhibition space has emerged highly profitable over the past few years with great returns for both local cinema as well as Hindi movies. Plus, it makes sense for us to expand our regional footprint and go to new cities across the country," Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, joint managing director at PVR Ltd.
At the moment PVR has projects for cities like Bengaluru, Chennai, Gurugram and Ahmedabad in the pipeline, Bijli added and is looking at 120 new screens by the end of the financial year.
With the film exhibition business seeing signs of recovery, multiplex chains such as PVR, INOX, Carnival, and Miraj are firming up expansion plans that have been in the works. These will be across small-towns and metros such as Hyderabad, Jalandhar, Rourkela, Bhilwara, and Kolkata, with an additional focus on deepening penetration into south India, which remains dominated by single-screen cinemas.
A regular multiplex property can cost between Rs. 3 crore and Rs. 3.5 crore to build, while premium cinemas can cost more. However, companies are clear this should be a time for caution since losses of the past year-and-a-half cannot be wiped off immediately.
The pandemic may have altered timelines but has also opened newer ways of doing business where multiplex chains are working with real estate partners on a transparent revenue-sharing model, which is a win-win for all concerned. On an average, India sees at least 350 new movie screen each year and has therefore lost out on around 700 screens in the past two years, making for a huge opportunity for chains like theirs, industry experts say.
