Currently, the average ticket price across NCR is in the range of Rs 200-300. Around 4,000 screens across the country, including major chains like PVR, INOX, Cinépolis, Carnival, Miraj and Citypride, Asian, Mukta A2, Movietime, Wave, M2K, and Delite, are among those that will sell tickets at Rs 75 on the day.
“National Cinema Day will bring together audiences of all ages to enjoy a day at the movies. It also celebrates the successful reopening of cinemas and is a ‘thank you’ to the moviegoers who made this happen. It is an invitation to those moviegoers who haven’t made it back to a cinema near them, yet,” the MAI said in a statement.
The association also claimed that India has a thriving domestic film industry and saw one of the sharpest recoveries in the film exhibition business, globally. It added, “The first quarter of the Fiscal Year 2023 has recorded impressive numbers among cinema operators on the back of global and local tent poles that resonated with the Indian audience. The quarter was marked by the release of some of the biggest domestic hits like KGF: Chapter 2, RRR, Vikram, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 and Hollywood hits like Doctor Strange and Top Gun: Maverick.”
Kamal Gianchandani, President, MAI, told us, “This Rs 75 ticket offer will be applicable in all mainstream formats, and all the films which will be available in cinemas during that week. While luxury formats will not be included in this offer, those will also be available at discounted prices. Cinemas in the US, UK and European countries, along with the Middle East, are also celebrating National Cinema Day with similar offers. We have chosen September 16 to celebrate cinema, and we believe that even families which have not stepped out to watch films in a long time will also visit cinemas for this event.”
After the US, other countries create their own National Cinema Day
Over 3,000 movie theatres across US are offering tickets for $3 (`239, approx) on their National Cinema Day on September 3. US Cinema Foundation president Jackie Brenneman said in a statement, “After this summer’s record-breaking return to cinemas, we wanted to do something to celebrate moviegoing and (say) thank you to the moviegoers that made this summer happen, by offering extra enticement for those who haven’t made it back yet.”
The UK cinema associations too created UK’s own National Cinema Day on September 3, and cinemas in European countries and the Middle East have followed suit. Iain Jacob, Chair of Cinema First – a cross-industry body in the UK – was quoted saying, “There seems no better time than now to celebrate UK cinema-going, one of the nation’s favourite out-of-home leisure activities.”