Multiplex chain PVR Inox is looking to add at least 45 new screens in the south market, the company said. A key growth area that the company has identified is the south Indian market which has seen 40-45% of new openings.
With respect to the southern region, Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, Executive Director, PVR Inox Ltd, told TDG that there are new projects in the pipeline in line with their expansion strategy. “We are set to unveil 60-70 new screens in 2024, with 97 already operational. The Southern region commands the largest share, constituting 32% of our total screen portfolio.”
Our strategic focus remains on expanding in the South, given the robust cinema-going culture and strong interest in movie-watching. Two significant projects are in the pipeline in Bengaluru and Kochi totaling 23 screens in the upcoming quarter. The emergence of Pan-India regional films has introduced a new demogrtotalingaphic of moviegoers beyond South India, and this trend appears to be long-lasting. We anticipate a substantial surge in regional cinema collections in 2024, with over 50% of films originating from the South,” stated Sanjeev Kumar Bijli.
From the South, they have some big films in February like ‘Lal Salaam’ in Tamil starring Rajinikanth, ‘Eagle’ and ‘Operation Valentine’ in Telugu. They also have a line-up of other exciting titles in other regional languages including Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi and Punjabi. From Hollywood, PVR Inox has lined up ‘Argylle’ and ‘Madame Web’ in February; ‘Dune Part 2’, ‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ and ‘Arthur the King’ in March.
In the upcoming months, the Hindi movie releases to look forward to include ‘Teri Baaton Main Aisa Uljha Jiya’ starring Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon and ‘Article 370’ starring Yami Gautam in February; ‘Yodha’ starring Siddharth Malhotra, ‘Laapataa Ladies’ produced by Aamir Khan, ‘Shaitaan’ starring Ajay Devgn and Madhavan and ‘The Crew’ starring Kareena Kapoor and Diljit Dosanjh in March.
