Box Populi
PVR Inox, Ikonz turn cinema foyers into living holograms
MUMBAI: Going to the movies in India is about to feel a lot more futuristic. PVR Inox, the country’s largest cinema exhibitor, has partnered with Ikonz Studios to launch India’s first full-stack, IP-driven holographic engagement platform, transforming cinema foyers into immersive, interactive brand playgrounds.
Moving well beyond posters, standees and on-screen commercials, the new platform introduces life-like, three-dimensional holographic experiences that audiences can see, engage with and respond to in real time. The result is cinema advertising that feels less like an interruption and more like a moment.
Powered by Ikonz Studios’ proprietary HXR technology and AI-led experience intelligence, the platform allows brands to deploy realistic holograms in high-footfall cinema spaces such as foyers and concourses. Audiences can interact with the content, making brand encounters participatory rather than passive.
Celebrity and intellectual property integrations add another layer of appeal. One of the early highlights includes a holographic activation featuring Amitabh Bachchan for IDFC Bank, where audiences interacted with a life-like digital avatar, boosting recall, trust and brand affinity.
The platform is currently live across seven PVR Inox locations in Delhi and Mumbai, with plans to scale rapidly. A national rollout covering 50 key cinemas is scheduled for the first quarter of 2026, offering brands a premium, networked canvas with consistent reach and impact.
PVR Inox Ltd CEO, revenue and operations Gautam Dutta, said cinema has always commanded rare, undivided attention. He noted that the new holographic platform marks a shift from passive exposure to immersive brand storytelling, creating a future-ready ecosystem that makes brand engagement more intuitive, memorable and effective.
Ikonz Studios CEO Abinav Varma Kalidindi, said the platform is designed to turn physical spaces into interactive experiences where brands can connect meaningfully with audiences. By combining full-stack holography with celebrities and IP, he added, brands can create moments that linger long after the popcorn is gone.
With long dwell times and emotionally primed audiences, cinema has always been fertile ground for advertisers. This latest innovation builds on that strength, offering high-impact, interactive touchpoints that elevate brand perception and sharpen recall.
Designed as a scalable, long-term engagement ecosystem rather than a one-off novelty, the Ikonz and PVR Inox platform positions holographic storytelling as the next big act in cinema advertising, and this time, the show starts before the trailers roll.
MUMBAI:If there is a soundtrack to cinema-going, it is the crackle of popcorn and in 2025, audiences at Cinépolis India clearly couldn’t get enough of it. The multiplex chain has revealed its annual popcorn consumption data, showing that moviegoers across its network devoured close to five million tubs of popcorn last year. Broken down, that works out to around 570 tubs every hour, or roughly 10 tubs disappearing every single minute, enough to keep the kernels popping almost non-stop.
In sheer volume terms, Cinépolis sold around 12,000 tonnes of popcorn during the year, underlining just how central the snack has become to the big-screen ritual. Long after the opening credits roll and before the end credits fade, popcorn remains the constant companion.
To celebrate National Popcorn Day on January 19, 2026, the cinema chain is now turning the spotlight on the snack itself. From January 20 to January 31, Cinépolis will run a nationwide “Popcorn Happy Hour”, offering a buy one get one free deal on popcorn across its locations. The limited-period promotion is designed to add a little extra crunch to the moviegoing experience, without adding to the bill.
“Popcorn is the official movie partner, and at Cinépolis, it is the sensory anchor of the cinema experience,” said Cinépolis India managing director Devang Sampat. “With the Popcorn Happy Hour offer, we are making it easier for audiences to add that to their visit, without compromising on quality.”
Sampat added that the consumption data is more than just a fun statistic. Tracking what patrons buy and when they buy it helps the chain refine its food and beverage offerings and shape the overall in-cinema experience. “Our 2025 data helps us understand what patrons are choosing, so we can keep improving the menu and the experience,” he said.
The popcorn push sits within Cinépolis India’s broader Foovies framework, an in-house strategy that treats food and beverages as a core part of cinema-going rather than a side order. The approach focuses on curated menus, value-led campaigns and data-driven decisions, using consumer behaviour to guide what lands at the concession counter.
As theatres continue to compete not just with streaming platforms but with every other leisure option vying for attention, the numbers suggest one thing remains rock-solid: when the lights dim, popcorn still rules the aisle. And with millions of tubs already behind it, Cinépolis is betting that the humble kernel will keep audiences coming back for another bite and another show.
