By Praveen Paramasivam
(Reuters) -Mexican theatre chain Cinepolis expects double-digit revenue growth in India this year as it opens more screens and bets on a major Hollywood and Bollywood lineup to bring in moviegoers.
Western studios are counting on this summer to reverse a downtrend worsened by the 2023 Hollywood writers’ strike, with blockbusters including “Jurassic World: Rebirth” and “F1” hitting theatres through September.
“Hollywood has a very strong lineup, so (does) regional and Bollywood,” said Cinepolis India Managing Director Devang Sampat, adding sharp marketing with malls and production houses could lift admissions, which are still 20% below pre-COVID levels.
Theater chains face increasing competition from streaming apps, concerts and live sports.
Still, Cinepolis, which operates 485 screen in India out of 6,800 globally, is looking to open 20-25 screens this year to drive revenue growth, Sampat said.
As for longer-term expansion, the company is taking it “one year at a time,” he added.
Sampat did not disclose 2024 revenue or profit but said Cinepolis’ annual revenue over the years, excluding the impact of the pandemic, had grown in the high single-digit to early-double-digit percentage range.
According to industry data, Cinepolis reported a revenue of 13.46 billion rupees ($156.58 million) in the 2024 financial year, up 31% year-on-year, with net profit at 321 million rupees – its first annual profit in at least half a decade.
Meanwhile, analysts expect revenue at PVR Inox, India’s largest multiplex chain, to grow roughly 18% in the fiscal year that started on April 1, led by a strong movie lineup and plans to add 100–110 screens to its network of over 1,700.
Indian multiplex revenues are expected to jump 20%–25%, fueled by big-budget movies such as “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning”, Rajinikanth’s “Coolie”, and Rishab Shetty’s “Kantara: Chapter 1,” said Shobit Singhal, research analyst at Anand Rathi.
($1 = 85.9640 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
