The theatres are finally going to re-open in India from October 15 and the government has released the SOPs for the exhibition of films during UNLOCK 5.0. The list contains a total of 24 SOPs including the norm for 50% seating capacity of the auditorium during the screening of the film.
The past seven months have been tough for both single-screen theatres and multiplexes and they have been consistently vocal about it. Finally when the theatres re-open they have various challenges ahead of them. But the fact that they can now resume business even though with certain limitations is a welcome move for the theatre owners.
Among the many obstacles, a major one will be building trust and encouraging the cinema-goers, so that they can step out from their homes without any fear. This will be comparatively easier for the multiplex chains with a big brand name, like INOX, PVR, Carnival Cinemas and more.
The 50% occupancy rule will definitely have massive impact on the overall revenue when compared to the previous years. But these aren’t normal circumstances and hence the comparison doesn’t seem very valid.
Cinema owners were troubled when indefinite lockdown made filmmakers, both bollywood and regional, sell their films to various OTT platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+Hotstar, Zee5, etc. Some regional theatre organisations even gave warnings to big stars for releasing their films on digital platforms.
But why going to such extremes when all this was going to be temporary, was never out of sight? After all the theatrical experience is something that is almost irreplaceable and the most attractive selling point for the theatre and multiplex owners.
Now that the theatres are readying themselves for this new innings, how things will pan out in the coming time will be interesting to see. The rise of OTT platforms and the way they have lured filmmakers and customers, not just in metro but also in smaller cities, has been a very crucial development and more importantly it has caused some permanent changes in the entertainment industry altogether.
All things aside, there couldn’t have a been better time to re-open the cinemas than Diwali. Its the Indian holiday season when a lot of big budget movies make it to the theatres. And so will it be this time too, not just in the bollywood (Sooryavanshi, 83, Chehre, Coolie No.1) and regional cinemas (Master, KGF2, Marakkar, Annaatthe, Jagame, Thandhiram, RRR) but also the much awaited Hollywood releases like Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet”.
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