The theatres with the rights to broadcast the ongoing Asia Cup matches witnessed near-capacity shows last Sunday when India played Pakistan. As a result, top multiplex players including PVR, INOX, Cinepolis India and Miraj Cinemas recorded strong ticket sales revenue for the match.
Multiplex operators bought the rights for the Asia Cup India matches on a revenue-share basis. The India-Pakistan bout brought in a total of Rs 1.2 crore for three national chains in select screens.
“We managed to get the India distribution rights at the last minute and we distributed it to different cinemas. The match was on Sunday and we had signed the deal on Friday, yet the India-Pakistan match saw good traction without any marketing,” Devang Sampat, CEO, Cinepolis India, told Moneycontrol.
He said that the match was played on 220 screens and clocked an all-India average of 75 percent occupancy.
“We have another India-Pakistan match scheduled on September 4 and I believe it will do better than the last one as there is more awareness,” said Sanjeev Bijli, joint MD, PVR.
PVR, which projected the match across 91 screens in 46 cities, saw 50 percent occupancy with box office collections of Rs 50 lakh at Rs 350 per ticket.
Amit Sharma, MD, Miraj Cinemas, said that the ticket pricing for the matches is 1.5 times that of feature films, which are usually three hours long while the matches are over four hours including intervals. “The India-Pakistan match was a super hit. We screened at 20 locations of which 12 were houseful.”
The ticket price for the India-Pakistan match was in the range of Rs 300-500, said Vishal Sawhney, director and CEO, Carnival Cinemas.
INOX, which played the match in over 60 screens, saw around 90 percent occupancy. “We are hoping to see a bigger response for a repeat of this clash on September 4, which is also a Sunday, for the possible Super 4 encounter between the table toppers of Group A,” said Rajender Singh Jyala, chief programming officer, INOX Leisure.
Sawhney said that they are seeing 50 percent more traction for advance bookings for Asia Cup matches other than those featuring India and Pakistan.
F&B sales, advertiser interest
Along with ticketing revenue and occupancy, exhibitors saw strong food and beverage (F&B) sales during the India-Pakistan match. “We saw twice as much F&B sales during the match over regular days,” said Cinepolis India’s Sampat.
Miraj Cinemas’ Sharma said that F&B sales were much better than during feature film releases because of the extended duration of the match.
On the advertising front, the Asia Cup is seeing growing interest from brands. “Advertiser traction is picking up and they are interested in seeing how many people are watching these matches on the big screen,” said Bijli.
Sampat said advertisers want to become partners and opt for group bookings. “A lot of advertisers are enquiring for bulk ticket sales to make it a big event. For the Sunday match, we are seeing advertisers buying tickets in bulk to distribute it to their consumers,” he added.
Dialling up non-film content
While non-studio content like live streaming of sports and music currently have a small contribution to overall cinema revenues, exhibitors are focused on growing this segment. Experts note that non-studio content adds 8-10 percent to a theatre chain’s revenue.
Sawhney pointed out that content outside of films is becoming increasingly popular and is starting to contribute to cinemas’ overall revenue. “In the next few years, we can expect to see a rise in events like (South Korean band) BTS and EDM (electronic dance music) concerts, music festivals, film festivals, online gaming events, short films and documentary films,” he said.
The BTS Permission to Dance on Stage - Seoul: Live Viewing screened in 46 cinemas of PVR in March this year recorded 90 percent occupancy.There are other niche segments to address as well. “Anime content is finding a new audience at the cinemas with Jujutsu Kaisen: Zero (Japanese with English subtitles) recording close to 30 percent occupancy,” said Bijli.
At the moment, though, cricket rules. The India- Pakistan cricket match of the 2019 World Cup drew upwards of 60 percent occupancy in INOX theatres. The screening of the ICC T20 World Cup played in Dubai recorded double-digit occupancies and the first two matches that India played saw more than 50 percent occupancy.
INOX is in talks with the International Cricket Council for the Australia T20 World Cup scheduled for October 2022 and also the World Cup that India is hosting next year.
PVR too is looking at adding more sports content. “We have screened IPL (Indian Premier League) matches in the past and received good response. We will continue to look at sports and with the T20 World Cup around the corner, that is something we should look at,” said Bijli.
Sawhney noted that his company decided to invest in Asia Cup rights to reach out to a new audience. “It helps us to attract a wider range of customers, including sports fans who might not normally visit the cinema.
In addition, it boosts revenue by bringing in viewers who are willing to pay a premium to watch live sporting events on the big screen,” he said.
He added that with the right strategies in place, live sporting events can be a major boost for the cinema industry.
The Asia Cup series comes at a time when some big-name Bollywood ventures failed to impress at the box office, including movies like Akshay Kumar’s Raksha Bandhan, Aamir Khan-starrer Laal Singh Chaddha and Ranbir Kapoor’s Shamshera.
“Bollywood can no longer take audiences for granted and has to adapt if it hopes to survive and thrive. We do not have a blockbuster release this week in cinemas. Also, hugely anticipated big-ticket films have not performed well recently. Asia Cup 2022 seems to have entered at the right time,” said Sawhney.