Single-screen cinemas, already squeezed by the rise of swanky multiplex chains, are now facing an existential crisis. They say that distributors are refusing to screen specific films in their theatres, calling it a waste of time and marketing money.
Single-screen theatres are more prevalent in small towns, and refusal of movies to them disrupts the culture of movie-going and denies an important source of entertainment to the masses, experts said.
Films such as Deva, Emergency, Fateh and Loveyapa were denied to a few theatres recently, at a time when they are battling an acute paucity of content, casting doubts over their survival.
Producers, on their part, say that screening movies in single-screen theatres is an expense that can be avoided since the films are unlikely to run successfully in these markets and VPF costs can be curtailed.
VPF, or virtual print fee, is a cost borne by producers to show their films using digital projectors and technology supplied by digital service providers (DSPs) such as UFO Moviez and Qube Cinemas that theatre chains work with. It can cost the film producer up to ₹25,000 per screen.
The struggle for content
“Many cinemas are denied new films with the reasoning that the producers and distributors are looking at a limited release in a few theatres. But they don’t realise how the absence of new movies breaks the continuity of theatre-going in small towns where people often have nothing new to watch for several weeks,” Bihar-based exhibitor Vishek Chauhan said.
Chauhan added that the industry can’t expect such markets to come alive and thrive even for big tentpole films if people stop going to cinemas for weeks altogether, which in turn, leads to them being labelled as non-performers, which don’t deserve the effort of pre-release publicity, banners, posters and the expense of releasing new films.
“Every week is a new struggle for these cinemas which are constantly battling for supply of new films. Also, if distributors don’t think their movies are worthy of a theatrical audience, why have they been made anyway?” Chauhan reasoned.
A senior executive at a movie studio agreed. Producers and distributors look to leave some markets out of release plans because of the cost of publicity, VPF and the fact that there may be no hype for the film in the geography concerned. These usually tend to be towns below district headquarters.
“But the issue also is that producers have stopped making films targeted at these audiences. With the exception of a Pushpa 2 or a Gadar 2, it is unusual for a film to cater to mass-market, single-screen audiences. If the movie is entirely multiplex-friendly, like a Loveyapa, it doesn’t make sense to incur costs of releasing it in a such a small market,” the executive explained.
Dwindling audiences, rising costs
Past experiences have shown that barely four or five people turn up in such single-screen theatres with a seating capacity of 400, resulting in zero returns for cinema owners and distributors.
Film producer Yusuf Shaikh pointed out that VPF costs aren’t affordable for everyone, and the vicious cycle is resulting in several cinemas shutting down. “Even when some of these films are released in smaller theatres, there is no audience for them. It is extremely disheartening because the theatre also has a running cost,” Shaikh said.
