The Multiplex Association of India (MAI), a nationwide group of cinema operators, has appealed to studio partners, producers, artistes and content creators to support the cinema exhibition sector by holding and releasing their films in theatres once they open again.
“To this end, we urge all studios, producers, artistes and other content creators, to kindly respect the exclusive theatrical window, which has been a time-tested industry practice, agreed to by all stake-holders, not just in India, but even globally, for several decades,” it said in a statement on Monday.
This is in the backdrop of the cinema sector suffering massive financial losses amid the coronavirus pandemic, with the closure of screens and hardships beleaguering employees, not just of cinemas, but of even the supply chains and other stakeholders, it noted.
Collective action to tide over and emerge out of this crisis, from all industry constituents, is more important than ever, it said.
“When this crisis passes, the combination of pent-up demand and promise of new movies, we are sure, would boost the film business and contribute massively to reviving our industry. The collective, social experience of watching films on big screen needs to be preserved and it can be done only with the collective support of all stakeholders,” it said.
By supporting each other now, we will return stronger than ever, when we are again able to welcome back the many crores of devoted film fans who miss the big screen every bit as much as we do, it added.
MAI is committed to working with government institutions and partners through the weeks and months to come to ensure that cinemas survive this testing time, it said.