Trade experts share why theatres enjoy more footfall in South India

  Industry experts attribute stronger cinema-going culture in South India to affordable, regulated ticket prices, compared with the North. They say high ticket costs and premium multiplex positioning have reduced movie consumption, with audiences watching fewer films in theatres despite OTT growth 

Mumbai: With the rise of OTT culture, the cinema halls are seeing a rapid decline in footfall. However, when one takes a closer look, one finds that the situation is better in the South, compared to the North.IANS reached out to industry experts in an attempt to understand why cinema-going culture continues to flourish in the South, while it is becoming a rare phenomenon in the North. \

Trade Analyst Girish Wankhede explained, “The only difference between the South and us is that there they have a slab on ticket pricing. Which means they cannot sell tickets above a certain price, but there is no such limit in the North.”

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He added that, being affordable, more and more people go and watch movies in the cinema halls in the South and the regular occupancy rate in theatres is more than 70%. Wankhede further shared that the associations and unions in the South have not allowed the ticket rates to go above a certain point, which is not the case in the North.

Additionally, Vishek Chauhan, a fourth-generation theatre owner from Purnia Bihar, told IANS that the increased prices by the exhibition sector have significantly reduced consumption. “If they used to watch 10-12 films in a year, now they come to watch one or two films in a year.”

Comparing the ticket prices of North and South, he added, “What is the difference between Chennai and Delhi? In Delhi you have to sell for Rs 700 and the same chain in Chennai is selling for Rs190.”

Explaining the reason for the same, he continued, “You will have to understand that BDR, INOX and Cinepolis, these are all luxury planes; these are all lifestyle products; they pitch themselves. They talk to the richest people in this country. So a luxury plane cannot be for everyone. In a 5-star hotel, a common man does not go even if he has money because he feels intimidated. And in a very high-end place, a poor man does not have the courage to go inside. So we have to make spaces for them. Because the real audience is the same.”