The company will focus on increasing its footprint in South India and tier 2 and 3 cities
Bengaluru: Mumbai-based cinema chain MovieMax Cinemas is targeting 100 screens by the mid of next fiscal year (FY26), a top company official told IndiaRetailing.
Moviemax is owned by Cineline India Ltd., a publicly listed company supported by the Kanakia Group. Previously, Cineline operated the Cinemax brand, founded in 1997, which it later sold to PVR.
MovieMax Cinemas was established in 2022 and within two years, it expanded to 79 screens across 21 cinemas in 12 cities including Bikaner, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Nashik, Noida, Patiala, Pune, Secunderabad, and Zirakpur.
“Looking ahead, our primary target market is South India, especially in cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Cochin, and Coimbatore,” said Ashish Kanakia, chief executive officer of MovieMax.
Although MovieMax currently operates cinemas in both malls and standalone locations, the spokesperson expresses a preference for malls.
“In leasehold models, malls serve as entertainment hubs. A well-curated mall, managed by a competent owner who balances entertainment, fashion, and F&B, attracts significant footfall. This, in turn, benefits cinemas by driving substantial inorganic traffic,” added Kanakia.
Currently, the company is exploring all markets without restricting its focus to tier-1, tier-2, or tier-3 cities. “However, we recognise that tier-2 and tier-3 cities are significantly underserved, and we believe the future growth of Indian cinema lies in tier-2 markets,” he added.
Kanakia highlighted the challenges currently faced by the cinema exhibition industry. While there is a noticeable global shift in customer preference towards large-scale productions, franchise films, and visual effects (VFX)-rich content, the footfall for smaller-scale films has significantly reduced.
Despite these challenges, Kanakia remains optimistic. “Producers are increasingly focusing on creating big-budget, ensemble, and franchise films to meet this growing demand. We are confident that this trend will foster further growth in the industry,” he added.
Additionally, the rise of over-the-top (OTT) platforms presents a threat to cinema chains. “OTT has claimed a portion of the market. However, just as people still prefer going out to shop despite the option to shop online, cinema remains a key form of out-of-home entertainment. We believe both will coexist. Once the content and production side align with the kind of experiences audiences seek in theatres, the performance of cinemas will improve automatically,” Kanakia explained.
MovieMax is actively adapting technology across its outlets. Around a month ago, the company launched digital kiosks for self-service ticket bookings.
“We are now trying to automate most processes, including the box office. Our customers can order food directly from their phones using QR codes, and soon we will integrate the booking entirely through WhatsApp,” he added.
The cinema chain’s current priorities are achieving a margin of over 20%, enhancing the average ticket price (ATP) – spend per head (SPH) ratio, increasing food income as a share of box office revenue and standardising operations to minimise costs.
Kanakia also foresees a gradual revival in the cinema industry over the next few years, with cinema operators, mall owners, and developers creating new lease terms and a new normal in real estate. “The cinema experience will evolve, becoming more premium with larger screens. As home TVs grow larger, audiences will expect cinema screens to follow suit, becoming even bigger and more immersive,” he added.
In India, the cinema market is projected to reach $4.63 billion in revenue in 2024, with an expected annual growth rate of 5.50%, leading to a projected market volume of $6.05 billion by 2029, according to data analytics platform Statista.
