The debate on inflated ticket prices in multiplexes never ends. Ajay Bijli, Managing Director, PVR Inox, opened up on this aspect and a lot more in a recent interview to Film Companion.
PVR Inox MD Ajay Bijli reveals, “We got 2,00,000 people last month by doing corporate bookings, re-runs etc.”; also says “We have discounted prices like you can’t imagine”
Ajay Bijli, at the very beginning, shared, “The average occupancy of the country is 26%. India, however, is such a disparate market. Certain cinemas in South have 70-80% occupancy.” When asked if it’s because the prices are low in South, he replied that it’s the case only in a few states where the costs are controlled.
On ticket rates, Ajay Bijli reasoned, “When people say that ticket prices are higher, they only look at PVR Juhu’s Saturday night premium show rates and extrapolate that (with the prices in the rest of the country). Or they sit in a Luxe screen, pay Rs. 1500 and say ‘This is the ticket price (across the board)’.”
He added, “We have cinemas in almost every city and we have to cater to a very large audience. Hence, our ATP (average ticket price) is not more than Rs. 250-260. We introduced the Passport scheme through which one can watch a film for Rs. 85. I don’t think we can go lower than that.”
Ajay further said, “Only 14% of our screens are above the ticket pricing of Rs. 350. 86% of our screens are priced at Rs. 180-200. This value proposition customer is my bread and butter. That’s why we introduced Passport and sold F&B (food and beverage) at Rs. 99.”
He then stated, “I have done experiments with pricing as low as possible. What could be lower than Rs. 85 for an infrastructure like this? Yet, people have not come out. They want something engaging as well,” hinting that even films need to have strong content.
Ajay Bijli, at another point, said, “We have discounted prices like you can’t imagine. Because there are so many seats and shows to fill up. How do we get people in? So, now we are manufacturing footfalls. We got 2,00,000 people last month by doing corporate bookings, shows that people want to see or old films. People can even see their wedding videos, stand-up comedians, music festivals, etc, because there was no (significant) movie.”
Ajay Bijli also said that PVR cinemas sell snacks and beverages for Rs. 99 and one can refill it unlimited times. He revealed, “In fact, I have seen videos of customers not watching the movie (and coming to the theatre just to eat and take advantage of unlimited F&B at Rs. 99). In one video, the father is telling the son, ‘Isko bharo’. They are filling up the glass. It’s spilling. They are gulping it down and again filling it up. There are many videos like that. Pet mein itni jagah bhi nahin hai jitna kha rahe hain aur pee rahe hai. Hence, I felt that this offer should be stopped. But Gautam Dutta (CEO, Revenue and operations, PVR Inox) said, ‘Don’t worry. Let’s not stop. Now at least nobody will say that the pricing is high’.”
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