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As the exhibition industry is gradually reopening after getting the nod from various State governments, PVR Ltd said it expects to see more robust recovery trends by the third or the fourth quarter of the current financial year. The company said it would be adding 19 new screens in this fiscal.
The company on Thursday launched its luxury offering Director’s Cut in Gurugram.
Sanjeev Bijli, Joint Managing Director, PVR Ltd, told BusinessLine , “Before the pandemic outbreak, a couple of our screens and properties were in the pipeline and in the final stages of completion. Overall in the current fiscal, we expect to add 19 screens (including four screens of Director’s Cut, Gurugram) with an investment of about ₹25-30 crore in this fiscal.” This will include revamping of iconic Delhi properties of PVR Anupam and PVR Priya.
Multiplex chains, which reopened with the release of Mortal Kombat , are betting on a constant stream of Hollywood content this month, such as The Suicide Squad 2 , Promising Young Woman and the Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It in the first three weeks of the reopening. Bijli pointed out that the Hollywood content line-up is strong this month besides the Akshay Kumar starrer Bell Bottom, slated for release on August 19.
“I think once the nod is given for cinemas to reopen in Maharashtra, we will see more Hindi movie filmmakers planning on releasing their films. Given the success of films like Master in January, we expect film producers this time to take swifter decisions on movie releases unlike what we saw post the first wave,” he added. Bijli pointed out that recovery trends for the exhibition industry hinge on key factors of the release of fresh content and improvement in consumer confidence.
“We expect to see stronger recovery trends by third or fourth quarter of this fiscal as we move towards festival season backed by a consistent supply of fresh content, provided we don’t see a third wave or further lockdowns. With more and more consumers getting vaccinated and higher awareness about safety protocols, consumer confidence will also further improve,“ he added.
The multiplex chains have been reopening their cinema properties in a staggered manner depending on permissions from State and local governments. On July 29, PVR had said it has got a nod to reopen 526 screens across 111 properties.
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