India sees surge in movie goers but challenges remain

livemint.com:

film industry marked a significant recovery in 2023, with 157.4 million people attending the cinema at least once, a 29% increase from the previous year and surpassing pre-pandemic levels by 8%, according to a report by media consulting firm Ormax. However, despite these impressive numbers and box office revenues exceeding ₹12,000 crore for the first time, the growth in footfalls lagged, indicating that while more people are visiting theatres, they are doing so less frequently than before the pandemic.

Trade experts suggest that there is at least a 20-25% dip in footfalls that may persist, as viewers increasingly turn to home viewing options and as cinemas become more expensive, premium spaces. This shift risks alienating a significant portion of the population from the theatre-viewing experience and suggests a challenging future for smaller-scale, content-driven films without star power.

Consequently, the industry may continue to rely heavily on a few, big-budget, star-driven titles. As per the Ormax report, based on research conducted in January 2024 among 8,500 Indian audiences across both urban and rural areas, these 157.4 million cinema-goers contributed to 943 million footfalls at the domestic box office in 2023, which comes to an average of six films watched per person, across all languages.

Hindi-language cinema saw the most significant growth, with its audience rising to 92 million, a 58% increase over 2022. Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada films witnessed a minor drop in audience shares, while Malayalam cinema experienced a 19% increase in audience, rising from 10 million in 2022 to 12 million in 2023.