There’s more crunch in the popcorn for movie-goers this July. The month promises to be a blockbuster one for the Box Office and for multiplex owners owing to a slew of movies lined up for release including Kabali, Dishoom, Mohenjo Daro and Rustom. Speaking to Bloomberg TV India , PVR Pictures CEO Kamal Gianchandani says the company is looking forward to a fairly decent Box Office in the 2nd and 3rd quarter as there are strong content-based movies lined up for releases. The Model Shop and Establishment Bill will also be a big positive for entertainment business in the long run, he said.
What prospects do you expect from the line-up of movie releases?
The line-up is extremely robust. Even the first quarter has been fairly strong in terms of content. The first one to be out of the block will be Sultan, releasing on Eid. The response has been extremely strong and the prospects of the film are looking extremely robust. And after that we have Kabali, Dishoom, Mohenjo Daro and Rustom. We are looking forward to a fairly decent Box Office in the second and the third quarter.
I will not be able to speak about the exact numbers. All I can say is that we had one of the best first quarters in the last financial year. So in spite of a very high base effect, this quarter has been extremely strong.
You had acquired 32 screens from DT Cinemas. By when will the revenue accretion likely show up on PVR’s books?
We are still in the midst of consolidating DT screens with PVR screens. I would not like to speak in details because it is sensitive information. But we are in the process of combining both the entities.
The Cabinet recently approved the Model Shops and Establishment Bill that will enable shops to remain open 24x7 and all through the year. How much of a positive do you see in that? Do you see certain hurdles in the passage of the Bill?
Cinema is a State issue. In that context, this is more of an advisory that has been initiated by the Central government. States will have to pass their own local guidelines or laws. But I think it is a big move as it reduces a lot of regulatory hurdles. It reduces a lot of permissions and approvals that we need to secure. While there may not be any immediate gain, on a long-term basis, it is a positive move because it gives us a lot of flexibility. So in the weeks and months in which we have spike in demand, we can now run shows for a longer duration with very less regulatory and licensing hurdles.
If the Bill is passed, will there be changes in pricing structures or models or some kind of price discrimination that you might follow?
As far as the ticket pricing is concerned, it meets all the demands at the end of this spectrum. We already follow a pricing which is fairly variable in nature. Weekend prices differ from weekday prices. And within the days, morning and afternoon shows tend to be at lower price bands compared with evening and night shows. So the price structure, even at present, is quite variable in nature.