 "Devang Sampat, managing director, Cinepolis India")
Devang Sampat, managing director, Cinepolis India
The slow supply of malls in India has hampered the speed of growth for the Indian arm of the Mexico-based international movie theatre chain, Cinepolis.
Cinepolis, India’s first international cinema exhibitor, entered India in 2009 with the aim of achieving 1,000 screens in 10 years. For this year, Cinepolis planned to open 80 screens across India with a capacity expansion of Rs 280 crore, which was internally funded. Out of these 80 screens, Cinepolis India has begun the fit-out process for 50 screens.
“Now, we do not have that goal. It was clear that we wanted to open 1,000 screens, and it was not easy. Currently, we are at about 450 (screens),” Devang Sampat, managing director, Cinepolis India, told Business Standard in an interview. “Cinema is purely dependent on malls, and we do not see that much mall supply for us to open several screens. So, for the short term, we will continue to look for those 80 screens. We may be able to open 40 or 50 in a year,” he added.
Sampat pointed out that if the licensing and the mall owners deliver on time, they (Cinepolis India) are well within their targets. In 2024, Cinepolis India added 11 screens in Hyderabad, one in Jaipur, one in Gurgaon, and one in Delhi, along with a few operational projects in Gujarat.
For the cinema operator, Tier-1, -2, or -3 cities are not the criteria for expansion. “The big picture is, India is still largely under-screened when you compare it to other mature markets,” he said. India is still developing, and not every area will have a similar propensity to watch movies.
The cinema business is seeing growth for Cinepolis India, with overall footfall expected to increase by 15 per cent compared to pre-pandemic levels. However, this isn’t a smooth transition. Sampat said there are peaks and valleys, and the issue is that there are too many valleys right now.
In terms of revenue diversification, Cinepolis India earns 65 per cent from the ATP (average ticket price) and SPH (spend per head). The ATP and SPH on food and beverage (F&B) is at 50 per cent. This means that if a customer spends Rs 100 at the box office, they are spending Rs 50 for F&B.
Overall, the company earns 10 per cent from advertising, 30 per cent from F&B, and 60 per cent from the box office.
Sampat adds that there is a huge opportunity in the F&B business, calling it, “It is not a hunting business, it is a farming business.” He said there is a change in consumer behaviour where people are coming for a movie to plan their meals because of a wide range of options apart from the usual popcorn and Coca-Cola.
“We have already seen that 85 per cent of people are already back at the cinema. It is just that we have to increase their frequency, and that frequency is something that we are currently working on,” he added.
First Published: Sep 08 2024 | 5:46 PM IST