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In the absence of fresh blockbusters, re-releasing old films has breathed new life into theaters, surprising the industry by not only helping exhibitors cover fixed costs but also proving that what didn’t work before can succeed when the timing is right.

This strategy has borne fruits and provided reasonably good business to exhibitors after a muted June 2024 quarter.

Gautam Dutta, CEO- Revenue & Operations at PVR INOX said, "From a slightly muted response in the beginning, we have seen strong response from audiences. Films such as Rockstar (2011), Ghilli (2004), Laila Majnu (2018) and Tumbbad (2018) generated footfalls in the range of 4-7 lakh and occupancy of 35-43%."


He added, "In all, we have re-released 50 films across languages across our more than 1700 screens and most films have received good response."

According to Dutta, these 50 films have cumulatively generated 60 lakh footfalls in theatres.

He said that these footfalls are likely to grow in the coming weeks and will amount to 4% of the annual footfalls the multiplex. Ticket prices for these re-released films have been set between Rs 112 and Rs 149.

Exhibitors say that running a multiplex screen involves significant fixed costs, including rentals, electricity, water charges, and other operating expenses.

According to the FY24 Annual Report of PVR Inox, fixed costs as a percentage of its total costs is 55.1%.

This highlights the substantial costs multiplexes face in the absence of an attractive lineup of new movies, making the strategy of re-releasing old films a sensible approach.

Quite favorably, these re-released films have not only generated decent box office collections but also boosted food and beverage sales. According to data from multiplexes, popular titles like Ghilli (Tamil), Rockstar (Hindi), and Laila Majnu (Hindi) have brought in Rs10-50 crore since their re-release. Interestingly, trade analysts note that the 2018 film Tumbbad collected Rs 18.9 crore overall, with an opening day haul of Rs 1.65 crore—surpassing the Rs1.15 crore earned by the new release The Buckingham Murders (2024) on its debut.

Devang Sampat, managing director at Cinepolis India said, "We have been engaging with audiences on social media platforms and doing online polling. Through targeted marketing through our social media platforms we select films to showcase in theatres. There is a demand for alternate content. Whether it is sporting events or showing old films, the audience is looking for good and engaging content."

He added, "In 450 screens, we have a million visitors. Films such as Rockstar (2011) and Tumbbad (2018) have generated stupendous responses from the audience. Though there is a repeat audience for these old films, a large section of the audience belongs to Generation Z who were not born when these films were released."

Interestingly, Gautam Dutta of PVR said that this strategy of re-releasing old films will be ongoing. He added in future as and when films' pipeline is weak, the multiplex will re-release old films.

When it comes to costs, exhibitors only face the relatively modest marketing expenses for re-releasing old films. In terms of revenue sharing, exhibitors retain 70% of the box office collections, while the remaining 30% goes to the film's distributors or rights holders.

Ameya Naik, a producer and founder of event management company, Fantasy Films, said, "Footfalls are a function of ticket prices. Though one cannot deny these old films have drawn audiences to theatres in absence of not-so-appealing content, one cannot also rule out the fact that in a fixed ticket price range audiences do come to theatres.”

He added that affordability of ticket prices and fatigue from watching content on personal mobile phones may have contributed to this favourable response from audiences to re-runs of old films.