With National Cinema Day bringing the long lost ‘House Full’ boards back at the theatres and considering the performance of the movies released with a lower price, it is safe to say that ‘cheap ticket prices’ is the only way to revive the otherwise dead Bollywood box-office.

Bollywood movies were tanking left, right, and centre. Let be non-commercial movies, even mass films like 83, Jayeshbhai Jordaar, Samrat Prithviraj, Shamshera, Laal Singh Chaddha and many more saw a terrible time at the box-office. Then came the 23rd of September. India celebrated its first ‘National Cinema Day’ with a special pricing of Rs.75 for all movies screening that day. Various cinema chains like PVR, Inox, Cinepolis, Carnival, Miraj etc. participated bringing in 4000+ screens. This move by Multiplex Association of India (MAI) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) saw a very positive response from the movie goers and registered the maximum number of footfalls ever received in a single day at theatres – 65 million! Yes, 65 million people in India saw one of the many movies that were on. 

In the list of many movies that were screening during this time also had – Brahmastra (3rd weekend), Chup & Dhoka: Round the Corner (New Releases). Below is what the collections of these films looked like:

Now let’s put this in perspective. The third Friday, I repeat, THIRD FRIDAY collection of Brahmastra was higher than the first day collection of Samrat Prithviraj (Rs. 10.7 crores) & Shamshera (Rs. 10.25 crores). Chup, which is a non-commercial film meant for a very niche audience, collected more than the first day of HIT starring Rajkumar Rao (Rs. 1.35 crores). Let’s get some more perspective. Shabaash Mithu and DoBaaraa, both starring Tapsee Pannu had a first day of Rs. 40 Lakhs and Rs. 72 Lakhs respectively. The re-release of a 2009 film ‘Avatar’ minted more than the combined collection of the aforementioned two films.

Now what can make the third Friday collection and the re-release business of a 15-year-old film be higher than the collection of mass and commercial films? The numbers give the message loud and clear. Ticket Prices! On an average, ticket prices in the first week of release across cinema chains (excluding premium formats) range from Rs. 150-250. Bringing this down to Rs. 75 could make even non-commercial and re-release films get an audience. So why wouldn’t people watch entertaining mass Bollywood movies if the prices are reasonable? If not as low as Rs. 75 again, but reaching close to half i.e. Rs. 100-150 will give a substantial boost.

Post-pandemic, one thing is clear. People calculate a lot when they spend on movies. While they can get a full year subscription of various OTT apps in 1 visit to the theatre – why will they pay for your movie. It will be only and only for a big-screen experience that they cannot get sitting at home. If you are making content that is not like this, then it better be appropriately priced to be accessible to a lot. It is high time that Bollywood and the various stakeholders involved need to think about appropriate pricing if they want to see a good footfall in the theatres. Various movies like Good Bye and others followed a differential pricing strategy for a day and week. However, this needs to be applied consistently rather than just some time. 

That’s my view on the ongoing scenario of the ticket-prices, what do you think? Do share this post and make it reach the people it should for it to bring about a change.