Large number of 'spectacle' films becoming money-spinners for multiplexes

In the past few years, a large number of ‘spectacle’ films are proving to be guaranteed money-spinners for producers and multiplexes.

Films such as sequels of Avengers and Fast and Furious and back home, Bahubali, have boosted box office collections. Unlike films in other genres, which can be consumed on a mobile or TV, the sheer experience of the scale and the visuals of these films in theatres has been a primary reason that these films have recorded huge collections at the box office.

For multiplexes, the March 2016 and June 2016 quarters are expected to generate high revenue growth given the strong line-up of big-budget English-language spectacle films.

Films such as Deadpool, Captain America: Civil War, X-Men: Apocalypse, Alice in Wonderland 2, and Zootopia are expected to boost revenue growth of multiplexes. In addition, these films are expected to make up for the fewer big budget Hindi films that will be released in a staggered manner over the year. One of the recent releases, The Jungle Book has already fared well at the box office by netting over Rs 100 crore in ten days after its release.

Among movie exhibitors, PVR is estimated to have 30-35% of Hollywood films’ revenue share at the box office. With a screen count of over 500, the multiplex leader is expected to show higher growth in its revenues for both March and June quarters.

Inox Leisure with over 420 screens, gets 25-30% of its films’ revenue share from Hollywood fare. According to Bloomberg’s poll of analysts’ estimates, for the March quarter, PVR’s revenue is expected to grow 31.5% to Rs 390 crore while Inox’s revenue may jump 20.1% to Rs 243 crore.