EXCLUSIVE: PVR INOX’s Sanjeev Kumar Bijli celebrates Drishyam The Conclusion’s box office success: “Our weekend admissions stood at 30 lakhs, among the HIGHEST ever”; predicts BLOCKBUSTER run for Ramayana: “It has all the ingredients”
The month of September proved to be a healthy one for the exhibition sector, while October began with a bang, thanks to the phenomenal performance of Drishyam The Conclusion. Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, Executive Director, PVR INOX Limited, spoke exclusively with Bollywood Hungama about the strong box office performance, the success of Avengers Endgame: Encore, the innovative Drishyam Pav Bhaji offer, the excitement surrounding Ramayana, the expansion of IMAX screens and a lot more.
How was the month of September and the first week of October for PVR INOX?
September was very good, dominated by Hanuman Ansh, of course (smiles). No one expected it to become such a sleeper hit. It exploded at the box office and has done business of close to Rs. 400 crores. That’s heartening for us, as it proves yet again that anything can happen in this business. Then, Mirzapur The Movie did very well, and towards the end of the month, The Vvaan also performed strongly in cinemas. These films gave us the desired footfalls and the results we were looking for. So, I am very happy with how September shaped up for us.
October has started with a bang, thanks to Drishyam The Conclusion. It has already earned Rs. 162 crores over the weekend and is still going strong. What’s amazing is that people have loved the film and are talking about it. This only means that it is going to sustain well and perform even better than we had expected.
We also released the Japanese film Doraemon: Castle Of The Undersea Devil, which collected around Rs. 8 crores over the weekend. That was a pleasant surprise. Our weekend admissions stood at 30 lakhs, which is a huge number and among the highest we have ever recorded.
Also, we have three more films coming up in October before Ramayana takes over in November – Udta Teer, Prahaar and Nayyi Navelli. They belong to diverse genres and their trailers look promising. Hence, these films have the potential to add significantly to our admissions this month.
PVR INOX came up with an interesting offer – buy four tickets for Drishyam The Conclusion and get one Pav Bhaji free. The creative announcing the offer was widely shared on social media. How important is it to provide such incentives to moviegoers?
We keep thinking of different offers, and this particular idea came from the producers, if I am not mistaken. It was quite different and innovative (laughs).
We are not a passive brand that believes people will automatically flock to cinemas whenever a film releases. That’s obviously not true. A lot goes into building and running cinemas. One of the things we actively focus on is promotions and marketing to make the moviegoing experience more attractive for our patrons. That’s why we offer discounted ticket prices on Tuesdays and weekday mornings. We also have several offers in association with banks and credit card companies. Our marketing and promotions team constantly strives to come up with innovative offers that encourage people to visit our cinemas.
The re-release of Avengers Endgame: Encore has also been very successful at the box office…
That was another pleasant surprise. It was a re-release with some new footage, which enticed audiences to return to cinemas. It’s also a great precursor to Avengers: Doomsday, which releases in December. The franchise has a massive following.
Hollywood has been phenomenal this year. Spider-Man: Brand New Day did more than Rs. 400 crores, while The Odyssey collected around Rs. 200 crores. Obsession, a relatively small film that not many people had heard of, went on to do Rs. 100 crores. Films like The Devil Wears Prada 2, Michael and Project Hail Mary also attracted audiences to cinemas.
This year, films across genres and languages have performed well at the box office. Our hypothesis is that people are getting bored of sitting at home and are increasingly enjoying the communal experience of watching a film together on the big screen.
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What are your expectations from Ramayana?
I hope, for everyone’s sake and ours too, that the film turns out to be a huge grosser. It has all the ingredients needed to become a massive blockbuster. So, I am very hopeful and optimistic about its box office prospects.
The IMAX format has become increasingly popular among moviegoers. Is PVR INOX planning to open any new IMAX screens this year?
We have one more IMAX screen coming up at Pacific Mall in Jaipur. The mall opens this Sunday, October 11, and we hope to have the cinema operational before Ramayana releases. We also have another IMAX screen planned for this financial year in Chennai.
The post EXCLUSIVE: PVR INOX’s Sanjeev Kumar Bijli celebrates Drishyam The Conclusion’s box office success: “Our weekend admissions stood at 30 lakhs, among the HIGHEST ever”; predicts BLOCKBUSTER run for Ramayana: “It has all the ingredients” appeared first on Bollywood Hungama.