PVR INOX bets on affordable multiplexes as single screens fade

MUMBAI: India’s multiplex boom is getting a smaller-screen twist. PVR INOX is betting on compact, affordable cinemas to tap underserved markets as single-screen theatres continue to decline, with the country’s largest multiplex operator planning to add at least 1,000 screens over the next five years.

The expansion will focus on franchise-owned, company-operated (FOCO) and other asset-light models, with developers expected to fund a significant portion of project costs.

The opportunity is sizeable. Around 16,350 of India’s 19,000 pin codes still do not have a cinema screen, according to EY’s The Story of Film Exhibition in India. Meanwhile, India had 10,033 cinema screens at the end of 2025, only marginally higher than six years earlier.

Screen density has also fallen from 7.6 screens per million people in 2018 to 6.8 in 2024, while nearly 1,000 single-screen theatres shut during the period.

PVR INOX managing director Ajay Bijli said the decline of large single-screen theatres reflects a basic problem with their economics. A 1,093-seat cinema can struggle to maintain healthy occupancy throughout the year because only a limited number of films can consistently fill such a large auditorium.

Unlike a single-screen theatre, a three- or four-screen multiplex can show several films at the same time, improving utilisation while giving audiences more choice.

The shift is already encouraging single-screen owners to convert their properties into multiplexes. PVR INOX, for instance, is converting Mymoon, a prominent single-screen cinema in Kochi, into a five-screen multiplex in partnership with Lulu Group.

Bijli said the conversion makes the business more viable by allowing several films to be screened simultaneously. Audiences get more choice under one roof, while film producers get additional opportunities to showcase their releases.

PVR INOX has identified around 300 smaller cities for its affordable multiplex format, including Jabalpur, Muzaffarpur, Barrackpore and Rampur.

The chain plans to keep ticket prices close to those of single-screen balcony tickets. For comparable formats and locations, prices will generally be 30-35 per cent lower than those at similar PVR INOX cinemas operating today, Bijli said.

The company’s average ticket price stood at Rs 273 in the June quarter.

The expansion will largely use models that require less capital from PVR INOX. Under the FOCO model, partners fund cinema development while PVR INOX manages operations. In its asset-light model, developers or landlords contribute between 30 per cent and 80 per cent of project costs.

PVR INOX currently operates 1,779 screens and plans to spend Rs 300-350 crore this financial year on around 100 new screens, along with renovating and premiumising its existing network.

Around 60-70 per cent of the new additions are expected to come through the asset-light model. As this share increases, PVR INOX expects its existing capital expenditure to support a larger number of screen additions.

Bijli believes India could eventually support around 25,000 cinema screens, but reaching that level will require policy support. He has called for measures including rationalising GST on cinema tickets, reducing local entertainment levies where applicable and lowering electricity and property taxes.

The company is also continuing to invest in premium formats such as IMAX, PXL, 4DX, ICE, ScreenX, Director’s Cut, INSIGNIA and LUXE. It plans to expand alternative content as well, including live sports screenings and concerts.

For PVR INOX, the strategy is clear: as traditional single screens shrink, smaller multiplexes could become the next big growth engine, taking organised cinema beyond India’s major urban centres and into markets that remain largely untouched.