Subtitles is really distracting I agree but i guess it is for today’s teens, as they understand English more than their mother tongues (Unfortunate but true atleast in the class PVR caters to). But yes, they should certainly have some shows where the subtitles are missing..
Rest of the points (Loudness, food service during movie) too can be seen from the lens of their target audience.
Agree that in the process they are loosing ardent cinema lovers
Where will the cinema lovers watch the cinema then? These are trivial issues; the experience of watching a movie in the movie hall compared to that at home cannot be compared. Also, most of the population do not have a privacy at home to watch a 2 hour movie. I think the admission rate will improve with time.
Simple economics.
A family of 4 with monthly income of Rs.100000. it will cost them 2000 for a movie outing on a weekend. 350 ticket and 150 food per head. Add hassle of going through traffic, convenience fee (if tickets booked thru app), mall parking charges/fuel/conveyance.
How many times in a year this family will spend 2.5% of monthly income on this experience.
Also, this will be a topup on all OTTs …no cost substitution.
Earlier movie used to be few hundred rupees event.
This family will incur such exps only for few select movies….3-4 times max in a year.
Some suggestions to improve
The company will have to change the things upside down…to survive and maybe prosper.
Disc. Invested earlier…exited at higher levels
Fantastic results from PVR. The weak quarter still ended in PAT positive. Finally from -1430 crores debt to net debt positive. with a very strong second half coming up no stopping this PVR train. Eagerly looking forward to concall and investor presentation.
I’ve been reading obituaries about multiplex business every year since 2020. But the proof to the contrary is in the topline and the fact that movies like Kantara 2 and Coolie were sold out at the box office despite a fast approaching OTT release date.
The whole argument of “OTT and 5G/6G will kill the going-out industry” has lost credibility as it seems some people are extrapolating their personal views to the rest of the population. Why do people still pay such high ticket prices to watch a cricket match at the stadium when they can watch it more clearly and comfortably at no additional cost in their homes? Why do people still get ready and go to restaurants when they can have the same food delivered home? Why are people willingly paying inflated prices for popcorn?
My base view is that PVR is in the business of selling group experiences in a country which is deprived of many alternative mainstream options. It is also a play on the rising discretionary spending power of the affluent and aspirational classes in big cities, which is mirrored by PVR’s F&B revenue steadily outpacing its ticket revenue.
The debt reduction is amazing. The free cash flow this company generates is pretty potent. Didnt expect them to cross 1.6K Cr revenue this quarter but they did. Experimenting with their business models to show matches and host events, and using brand equity to bring about asset light screens in. The only issue I see is that they are not able to tap into the performance of regional movies very well. Hollywood and bollywood are good but regional movies are where the regular hits are at. But PVRs valuation rn however is not so much that it becomes a problem
Not a recommendation to invest. DYOR
Perhaps I am wrong but Tamil and Telugu movies are front loaded, that is, they make a much higher amount of money in their first weekend than in the next weeks, which is why these films don’t get wider release in North and why coolie tamil streamed on prime in 4 weeks but coolie hindi took 8 weeks, why does this limit exist if OTT is no danger?
I mean its just an agreement to not run it in parallel. People would always choose the lazier option if given the choice. But even with this time of 4 or 8 weeks, it is undeniable that success in the theatre means a significant amount for everyone involved. The indian box office has continued to grow steadily, and PVR with this quarter has undeniably proved that through ruthless old school operational efficiency, the theatre business can be profitable. I mean what is the most famous OTT movie you have heard about? I bet it would barely be more famous than a 100cr movie. Even if it is famous, its probably among the outliers
The only problem I see still for PVR is their weakness at the regional box office. Those sections of movies are seeing more 100cr+ success but PVR gains a tiny portion of that success. PVR depends on Hollywood and bollywood success to make good money. Atleast 2 out of 4 quarters, it does really well. PVR just needs to keep their head afloat during the other 2. This is also becoming easier due to the vanishing debt, the growing treasury income from cash balances, and their movement to asset light models to reduce strain on book.
One thing to note is that the PVR management is not at all shy to experiment. They vigorously experiment as can be seen from their concalls and ppts
PVR ticket price and F&B numbers looks impressive , with single screens closing in south India , occupancy numbers which stand at 26% may go up 40% in coming days
Going foward there may few movie release ( but those would big budget ) , which may run for longer duration likes of Ramayana and Toxic and Odyssey etc
What could be FY27 expectations when content lineup is good?
Can they increase free cash flow significantly?
