Lack of new releases force single-screen theatres in Telangana to shut down

Vijayender Reddy, President of the Film Exhibitors Association on Wednesday said that lack of content is the main reason for the theatre owners to make this decision.

Hyderabad: Single-screen theatres in Telangana are set to close for a ten-day period. The decision was made to mitigate financial losses due to the dearth of major blockbuster releases during this season.

Vijayender Reddy, President of the Film Exhibitors Association on Wednesday said that lack of content is the main reason for the theatre owners to make this decision. “It is a very sad summer for the movie industry with no releases in the past month leading to minimal box office collections. Per day expenses to maintain the film running in the theatre costs us Rs 12,000, while revenue shares remain low.”

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Reddy emphasized that the availability of extensive content on OTT platforms, coupled with the diversion of entertainment provided by the IPL and the heightened interest in elections, has led to a significant decrease in the audience turnout for smaller films at single-screen theatres. He noted that several multiplexes are also reducing their shows, but they usually maintain operations, unlike single screens, which lack alternatives and have to close entirely.

Telangana has around 250 single-screen theaters, while Hyderabad alone accommodates around 80 of them. Although a few theatres may opt to reopen featuring low-budget films, Reddy mentioned that the majority of theatres haven’t finalized plans to reopen after the ten-day period and will wait until a major film is released.