We hope Hollywood blockbusters can bring back the audience: Exhibitors

Few Bollywood releases as Delhi halls reopen

- Niharika Lal

On Saturday, the Delhi government allowed cinemas to reopen from Monday with 50%capacity. Theatre owners say they plan to reopen in a phased manner and will screen new Hollywood releases. “We are hoping that films like F9, which performed well in the US, replicate the same success in India, as they are not on digital platforms and Indian audiences are yet to watch them. The only Bollywood film expected to release any time soon is Bell Bottom, which plans to open this August. We also expect films in other Indian languages to hit the screen in the coming months,” a senior official at a multiplex chain told us.

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Another exhibitor adds, “One of our learnings from the October reopening has been that whether it is Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Dil To Pagal Hai, Sholay or Deewar – people will not come to cinemas during the pandemic to watch an old movie, regardless of how popular it is. However, they will come for the latest releases that are not available on any digital platforms. For instance, when Wonder Woman 1984 was released in December, it performed really well at open-air film screenings as well as cinemas, with even families coming together to watch it. Hence, our focus will be on new films.” Demand for private screenings and premium services also went up with latest releases, while drive-through theatres were quite popular.