Pan-Indian multiplex chain PVR INOX has been seeking additional licences to serve alcohol in premium cinemas located in select cities, such as Gurugram or Bengaluru, reports NDTV. Introduced to counter the gradual decline in cinemagoers, this move is part of the company’s plans to increase the premium experience offered by cinemas, making it starkly different from watching films at home.
"The endeavour is to expand this as it provides an attractive opportunity to increase SPH [spend per head] ... PVR has been trying to augment revenue streams in the past few years. Alcohol is a state subject, therefore the requirements for getting a liquor licence is different for different states," said Abneesh Roy, executive director (research) at Nuvama Institutional Equities to NDTV.
In this regard, he explained that another important consideration was the money involved in obtaining and renewing alcohol licences, which varied from state to state, and could be extremely expensive in certain parts of the country.
This move, however, is unlikely to permit customers to carry alcoholic drinks inside movie halls, due to the Cinematograph Act. PVR INOX currently serves alcohol in the lounges, seating areas, and live music zones of a few luxury theatres such as Director's Cut, New Delhi and Maison Inox, Mumbai.
The company also recently launched an initiative titled ‘Blockbuster Tuesdays’, a weekly reduction in ticket costs across the nation starting from April 8. This incentive sees ticket prices as low as Rs.99-149 on Tuesdays, it announced in a press release.
These initiatives come just a month after the chain was fined 1 lakh in punitive damages by a district consumer court in Bengaluru for delaying screenings with excessive advertisements. The company also continues to suffer on the box office front, with 2024 seeing a Rs. 88.3-crore footfall, a 6% decline from 2023’s numbers.
Despite these challenges, profits increased by 3.9% to Rs. 68.1 crores in the third quarter of FY25, as per a PVR INOX investor presentation dated February 6.
