Multiplex chain PVR Inox has launched a standalone IMAX theatre in Delhi’s Priya Cinema, a popular landmark in the city and one of the first PVR properties in the country. Unlike other IMAX cinemas that are housed along with regular formats, this is the first time that an IMAX theatre is taking over an individual single screen cinema. Tickets to the 316-seater will be priced anywhere between 350 and 600 depending upon the film, day and show timing. Two other such properties are slated to come up, in Delhi’s Paras Cinema and Mumbai’s Eros Cinema.
“Priya is an iconic property and the screen size we were getting was incredible. IMAX is a format that makes a big movie even bigger and we want to come out with a cinema solution depending upon which market we’re in," Ajay Bijli, managing director, PVR INOX Ltd said.
The catchment that Priya Cinema is located in is conducive to Hollywood films and affluent enough to pay for the IMAX experience, Bijli said. As far as content supply challenges for IMAX screens in India go, Bijli called it a chicken-and-egg situation. While there have to be enough screens for filmmakers to invest in shooting or making films in the format, the theatres need more films that can be played on a regular basis, justifying operations.
“That is why I like to put IMAX screens where the catchment is not just dependent on local language content but can enjoy Hollywood films too," Bijli added. That said, if there isn’t an IMAX film available at any point during the year, the theatre will play a non-IMAX film, Bijli confirmed.
PVR Inox operates 230 premium screens across the country and the investment per screen ranges from 3 crore to 8 crore. IMAX offers a 70-mm motion picture film format, and projection system, wherein screen image width is greater than the height of a screen. The American film industry makes at least 20 films per year in the IMAX format. Local Indian films, across languages, too are increasingly taking to the same. Over the past few months, Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan and mythological film Adipurush were released in the format.
Bijli said the differentiation between home viewing and out-of-home experiences has to become stark. “Formats like IMAX, 4DX, ICE, INSIGNIA add to that experiential movie-going outing," he pointed out. Over the past few months, the theatrical business has finally seen green shoots with small-scale films such as Zara Hat Ke Zara Bach Ke doing well alongside Hollywood offerings like Oppenheimer, Barbie and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3
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