Global film exhibitor Cinepolis is going to invest Rs 500 crore more in the next two years to take the total screens in India to 400 from the present 206 screens.
“We have already invested Rs 500 crore as we cross the half way. Of the remaining 200 screens, the target for the year is 50, half of them in the South India. We have already opened 13 so far,” Javier Sotomayor, Cinepolis India Managing Director, said.
He was here on Friday in connection with the launch of its second multiplex in Hyderabad at Malkajgiri. The firm takes properties in a long-lease of about 20-25 years to build the screens. The one opened today has five screens with 700 seats.
He said India contributed about 10 per cent of the 24 crore footfalls the firm registered globally.
On the obstacles the exhibition industry faced in the country, Javier felt that the Entertainment Tax was too high. “It is as high as 40 per cent in some cases. It is way too high,” he said.
He also said that the licensing system too was a problem the industry faced.
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