PVR INOX targets 500 new screens in three years, bets on SMART Cinemas

Cinema exhibitor PVR INOX plans to add around 500 screens over the next three years, with a growing focus on Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4 markets through its SMART Cinema format, company executives said during the Q2 FY27 earnings call.

The multiplex operator aims to open 90-100 screens in FY27, followed by 150-175 in FY28. It has identified around 300 cities for SMART Cinemas, an affordable, capital-light format designed for smaller markets.

PVR INOX opened 24 screens across six cinemas in the first half of FY27, predominantly under asset-light models, while exiting 25 screens, mostly loss-making properties. As of September 30, the company operated 1,797 screens across 114 cities in India and Sri Lanka.


“We remain on track to open around 90 to 100 new screens in FY 2027, with the bulk of the openings in the second half, mainly under capital-light formats,” Managing Director Ajay Bijli said. Kamal Gianchandani, chief business planning and strategy officer, said the company intends to open 500 screens over three years.

Capital expenditure is expected to reach Rs 300-320 crore in FY27, with Rs 330 crore at the upper end of the range, and exceed Rs 350 crore in FY28, depending on project execution and screen additions, Chief Financial Officer Gaurav Sharma said. The company spent around Rs 132 crore on capex in the first half of FY27.

PVR INOX opened its first SMART Cinema in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, in September. Bijli said the format’s capital expenditure is 25-30% lower than that of conventional screens, while operating expenditure is around 25% lower than at cinemas in major cities.

The format aims to retain key elements of the moviegoing experience, including seating comfort, screen quality and audio-visual technology, while offering lower ticket and food and beverage prices. The average ticket price at Muzaffarpur is around Rs 190, compared with the company-wide average of Rs 298 in Q2 FY27. Food and beverage offerings focus on popular items.

Two SMART Cinema projects are under fit-out in Rampur and Barrackpore. The company has also signed around 100 additional screens that could open over the next 12-18 months, Bijli said.

The company is targeting a maximum payback period of three to four years for each new unit. Bijli said net screen additions would accelerate after earlier closures of cinemas in ageing malls and other loss-making properties. The rationalisation is intended to improve the quality of the network as expansion gathers pace.

Separately, Sharma said a review of the useful lives of projectors and IT equipment had reduced annual depreciation by around Rs 35-40 crore for the existing asset base.

PVR INOX reported adjusted Q2 FY27 revenue of Rs 2,132.7 crore, up 17% year-on-year, and adjusted EBITDA of Rs 475.2 crore, up 44%. Adjusted profit after tax from continuing operations rose 111% to Rs 273.3 crore.

The company generated around Rs 604 crore in free cash flow during the first half and repaid approximately Rs 259 crore of debt. After a Rs 300 crore share buyback in September, it ended the quarter with net cash of around Rs 141 crore, against Rs 81 crore in June.