Proximity and affordability attract viewers to single screen theatres.
It was 10:15 in the morning. Movie posters gave life to the old building walls. A cut out poster—taller than the theatre building—stood at the entrance. The title of the movie, “Mr. Natwarlal” was written in Kannada. A handful of people lounged outside. The middle-aged booking clerk sitting inside the ticket booth, of Triveni theatre, Gandhi Nagar, focused on the entrance.
“We probably can’t run the show today. There are only four people now,” he grumbled. As more people trickled in, his face lightened. Quickly, business resumed. The ushers docked the tickets and one by one, around 15 people entered.
Prakash, manager of Triveni theatre, however, was not exactly happy. He said the number of viewers has reduced. Triveni, which is more than 65 years old, only screens Kannada movies.
Many of the single screen theatres in the city are struggling with fewer footfall. These theatres witness an average crowd of 10-25 daily.
The existing single screen theatres in the city are finding different ways to survive. Some of them are running parallel business like parking. Some are trying to attract viewers by providing free ticket for less popular movies.
According to the Film Federation of India, there are total 10,167 single screen theatres in India. Andhra Pradesh has the most single screens (2,809), followed by Tamil Nadu (1,546), and Kerala (1,015). Karnataka has 950 single screen theatres.
Chinnaswamy who has been working at Sangeet theatre at Shivaj Nagar for 25 years said that they cancelled the morning show. “The number of people has reduced. We don’t know why. Daily only an average of 30 people come. Now there is only matinee and first show. After COVID, we’ve never seen a house full,” he said.
Tanveer Ahmed, Manager of Sangeet theatre said that 70 per cent of the people who come to watch movies are youngsters. The theatre which opened in 1978 initially screened Tamil and Hindi movies. Even though Kannada and English movies were screened eventually, fewer people watched them. So, the management switched to Malayalam films. He said that they have been screening Malayalam movies for 10 years. Also, since the theatre is in a commercial area, the Kannada audience is not much, Tanveer said, adding that they run the theatre because of “Bhagavan ki kripa.”
Dodging the flops
In addition to god’s grace, they also rent their empty space for parking. Robin, who works in a company near the theatre parks his vehicle there. “The area can accommodate 10-25 vehicles,” he said. Tanveer agreed that for four wheelers, they charge Rs.40 per hour.
Apart from such side businesses, some movie theatres are trying other methods to survive. Nagaraja, a restaurant owner near Triveni theatre said that the theatre offers free tickets for the first show for new releases. “I don’t go to movies often. Sometimes I watch them for free. Every Friday when a new movie is released they give free tickets for the first show. It is only for movies starring small heroes,” he said.
Single screen audience
Theatre owners mainly look forward to revenue from weekend shows. Umesh, manager of Santhosh, Narthaki and Swapna theatres at Majestic said that they cancel the show if there are less than 15 people. “At weekends more people come. So, we compensate the loss from that,” he said.
Nagbhushan who runs a tea shop near Triveni said that he doesn’t get time to go watch movies after all his work. “The last movie I watched was that of Suraj Kumar. I don’t really go to multiplexes,” he said. Suraj Kumar is a Kannada actor who lost his leg in an accident recently.
Babu Reddy, a cab driver said that he watches movies at theatres in Electronic City. “I watch at multiplexes as well. But usually I watch movies at local film theatres with my friends. The tickets are affordable there.”
Movie tickets costs Rs.120 at Sangeeth theatre and Rs. 150 in other single screen theatres. For balcony seats, they charge Rs.200.
He said that his daughter prefers multiplexes. “She works in the city and won’t come with me to old theatres. So, when I’m going with her, I usually go to multiplex theatres,” he said.
For many youngsters, the cheaper tickets and proximity are reasons to prefer single screens.
Shravan, a working professional recently went to Ravi theatre at Ejipura to watch Premulu, a Malayalam movie. “I wanted to watch this at a movie theatre with a better sound system. But I couldn’t go anywhere at that time because of distance and traffic constrains. This theatre was near and cheaper,” he said.
Anand, a film enthusiast, watches most movies at single screen theatres. He said that the only reason that he prefers single screens is because of their affordability. He watches movies the first or second day of their release. “Theatres at Madiwala and SG Palya are usually housefull. These theatres can hold larger audiences. Usually seats are full on the first two days of release for Malayalam movies,” he said.
The bitter side
Better quality and infrastructure and vast options are the factors for the success of multiplexes.
Devika and her friends from Acharya college prefer to go to multiplexes. “We (friends) usually go together to watch movies. At times some of us prefer to watch different movies. So, multiplex gives you the option to go to the film you like, all at the same building,” she said.
Anand had a bitter experience when he went to Lakshmi theatre at Tavarekere last week. He was watching ‘Manjummel Boys’ from the balcony. “Because of the seating arrangement there, I couldn’t see the screen properly. That was a bit annoying,” he said. He complained that other people’s heads were blocking his view of the screen.
He usually goes to Balaji, Lakshmi and Srinivas theatres. “Balaji is decent. But the rest have poor seating. I watched Manjummel Boys, Bhramayugam, Jigarthanda, Tiger 3 and Thuramugham from these theatres,” said Anand.
Shravan was disappointed with the seating and sound system at Ravi theatre.
Robin who watched movies from Sangeeth said that they are not maintaining the theatre properly. “I could see rats running. If they improve the infrastructure and arrange facilities like food outside the theatre, I will definitely watch movies here,” he said.
Running Un-Succesfully: Most of the single screen theatres have cancelled the morning show.
Multiplexes are restaurants
George Kutti, founder of Bangalore Film Society said that after digitization and internet, more people could watch movies without going to a theatre. “Single screen theatres with huge capacity have become unviable now. Multiplex minimized the size of the auditorium,” he said.
He said that the audience is given a vast choice. “You can’t make any profit with single screens now. The whole idea of the multiplex is that you can screen a number of films at a time,” he said.
George recalled that single screens provided access to poor people before the introduction of multiplexes, “They used to charge only five or ten rupees for the front row. All sectors of audience, the richest to the poorest, could afford. Now affordability is not there.”
He said that the theatre design has changed now to a restaurant model.
Cinema going is considered as a way of socializing in India, according to a study on “Preference of Watching Movies in Cinema Theatres.”
A survey conducted on “Statistical analysis on the viewership of Over the Top (OTT) and theaters and its associated factors” found that a majority of the respondents preferred to watch thrillers in theaters, and they do go to theaters once a while although OTT platforms exist.
