Why I Feel the Cinema Experience Isn’t What It Used to Be
These are my personal thoughts, and I make my investment decisions based on these. I know very few people agree with it - given that those very few people are ardent fans of visiting the cinema hall in the first place.
Until just a few years ago, I almost always preferred watching movies in theatres. Today, I rarely do—not because ticket prices are high or refreshments are expensive, but because the overall experience has become far less enjoyable. I believe these bad experiences will impact the ticket sales to some extent.
1. The sound is unnecessarily loud
The audio levels in many theatres feel excessively high. I genuinely wonder whether the sound levels are within scientifically accepted safe hearing limits. There have been times when we’ve felt the need to use earplugs or sound dampeners to watch a movie comfortably.
2. Subtitles everywhere
Almost every movie today comes with subtitles. Personally, I find them distracting. When I go to watch a Tamil movie in Tamil Nadu, I don’t expect English subtitles constantly competing for my attention. My eyes keep getting pulled away from the visuals. This isn’t even about the quality or accuracy of the subtitles. I understand that subtitles are useful for people who don’t know the language, and I’m not dismissing that need. But most people watching a regional-language film in its home state are likely to understand the language reasonably well. For others, given the technology, we can create alternatives—dubbed versions or dedicated subtitled shows at specific timings. Making subtitles mandatory for every screening ends up reducing the viewing experience for many of us.
3. Poor theatre etiquette
Audience behaviour has changed significantly. It’s now common to see people scrolling through their phones if they lose interest in a scene. The bright light from mobile screens is incredibly distracting for everyone seated nearby. I’ve personally had to request that people put their phones away on several occasions.
4. Food service during the movie
The trend of ordering food from your seat and having it delivered after the movie has started is another major distraction. Once the lights go down, the focus should be on the film. Instead, staff keep walking up and down the aisles searching for seat numbers, handing over food, and sometimes even taking fresh orders during the screening. I’ve witnessed theatre staff moving from seat to seat, asking for food orders after the movie had already begun. All of this breaks the experience for everyone around.
So, how does it help in investing in PVR shares or not?
Ultimately, I feel many multiplex chains, including PVR and others, increasingly view moviegoers as a captive audience and try to maximize every possible revenue opportunity. In doing so, they’ve lost sight of the core purpose of a cinema hall: providing a great movie-watching experience. Until cinema chains recognize that the movie itself should remain the primary focus, I believe they’ll continue to see declining footfalls. People don’t stop going to theatres because movies are available on OTT alone; many stop because the theatre experience itself is no longer as enjoyable as it once was. I am negatively biased and did not hold PVR shares.
