Ajay Bijli, PVR managing director, said Pushpa 2 will be the biggest release of the year.
Weak Quarter for PVR Inox
Exhibition company PVR Inox experienced its weakest quarter of FY24, reflecting significant volatility in box office collections.
Facing slow periods in April and May due to the general election, the company is now placing its bets on South Indian language films and alternative content such as cricket and concerts.
Focus on South Indian Films
Nitin Sood, Group CFO of PVR Inox, expressed optimism for the upcoming fiscal year, particularly with South Indian films. He noted, “FY25 is looking good for South Indian films with a big lineup.
Last year this segment was muted. Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada are expected to do better this year.” Managing Director Ajay Bijli highlighted the anticipated success of the Telugu movie Pushpa 2, expected to be one of the biggest releases of the year and available in multiple languages.
Alternative Content Strategy
To counter the slow content flow, PVR Inox is expanding its focus on non-film content. This includes screening significant events like the Men’s T20 World Cup cricket tournament in June.
The company previously screened the ICC Men’s World Cup 2023, achieving an average occupancy of over 70 percent and average ticket prices of Rs 580, with key matches sold out.
Diversified Content Offerings
In addition to sports, PVR Inox has screened music concerts such as Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.
Despite alternative content currently making up only about 1 percent of overall revenue, Sood emphasized its importance: “We are focused on bringing a lot of alternate content to our screens. We are experimenting with concerts, sports, which are big focus areas.”
Screening Classic Films
Due to a weak pipeline of new films, PVR Inox has also been showing older content, including hits like Dune, Oppenheimer, and Titanic, as well as popular Hindi films such as Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Jab We Met, Veer-Zaara, and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.
Additionally, the chain has screened significant events like the inauguration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and the Republic Day event, both of which saw high occupancy rates.
Increased Footfall and New Subscription Plan
Despite the challenges, PVR Inox saw an 8 percent increase in year-on-year footfall, rising to 151.4 million in FY24 from 140.4 million in FY23.
However, overall industry traffic is down by 25-30 percent. To drive audience engagement, PVR Inox has introduced a revised subscription plan called Passport.
“Under the new Passport subscription plan, we sold 1.75 lakh plans despite film releases being slow. June onwards, with a stronger lineup, this program will be more meaningful,” Sood noted.
The South Indian market has shown significant interest in the Passport plan, contributing 35 percent of total sales, followed by the North market at 32 percent.
Looking Ahead
With a strategic focus on diverse content and audience engagement initiatives, PVR Inox aims to navigate the current box office challenges and capitalize on the upcoming slate of South Indian films and alternative content offerings.
