PVR Inox launches 12-screen theatre in Bengaluru

New Delhi: Multiplex chain PVR Inox has launched a 12-screen cinema in Bengaluru, making for the first ICE theatres format in south India. The new property means 158 screens in 25 cinemas in the city for the chain and 201 screens in 35 cinemas in the state of Karnataka.

“We are delighted to partner with the Prestige Group to announce the opening of our sixth Superplex featuring the first ICE theatres format in South India. South is an extremely important market for us as part of our growth strategy and expanding in the region holds a lot of significance for us due to the immense passion for movies going audiences,” Ajay Bijli, managing director, PVR INOX Ltd said in a statement.

India’s lopsided movie screen expansion, is deeply slanted towards states like Delhi and NCR (National Capital Region), parts of Maharashtra, especially Mumbai, and cities like Bengaluru that have a tradition of multilingual viewing.

States like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and the northeast remain relatively screen dark, squeezing returns on films that do get there and depriving their viewers completely of the rest.

According to the Ficci-EY media and entertainment report 2019, there are 125 screens per million of population in the US, 60 in the UK and a mere 8 in India. As far as individual states go, Delhi and Andhra Pradesh saw a 1% increase in total number of screens the same year, while others like Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh saw a dip of 15%, 2% and 4%, respectively.

Cinema operators across the country agree that real estate prices have skyrocketed even in India’s smallest towns and are the biggest hindrance in building malls, which is where most major multiplexes would like to house their properties.