Telangana: 450 single screen cinema theatres to shut down for 2 weeks

Hyderabad: The Telangana Theatres Association (TTA) announced on Wednesday that single-screen cinemas across the state will shut down for ten days, starting from May 17 to May 26, due to rapidly declining attendance.

Vijayender Reddy, president of the State Film Exhibitors Association, stated that the daily operational costs for an average single-screen theatre range from Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 in small towns and between Rs 15,000 to Rs 18,000 in Hyderabad. However, many theatres are not even earning Rs 4,000 per day, with revenues dropping further for smaller films.

“In this situation, coupled with a lack of notable releases in the recent past and the near future, we have decided to take the drastic step of shutting down theatres temporarily,” Reddy explained in a quote to PTI.

Theatre owners demands direct payments from producers

He added that theatre owners are willing to screen films if producers directly pay the theatre management to show their films.

At the time of reporting, Telugu films like Krishnamma, Prathinidhi 2, Aa Okkati Adakku, Prasanna Vadanam, and Aarambham are playing in Hyderabad, primarily in multiplexes.

Raju Yadav, featuring Jabardasth-fame actor ‘Getup’ Srinu, is scheduled for release on May 17 but is expected to be postponed due to the shutdown. The other significant releases on the same date –Baahubali: Crown of Blood, a Disney+ Hotstar original animated series, and Vidya Vasula Aham, an AHA original romantic drama – are both OTT releases.

A gap in theatrical releases is expected until May 31, when films such as Gangs of Godavari starring Vishwak Sen and Satyabhama, a police drama featuring Kajal Aggarwal, are set to hit the screens.

The closure decision is also influenced by the trend of shorter theatrical windows, where films are available on OTT platforms within a month of their release, affecting the entire theatrical ecosystem, including distributors and exhibitors.

Streaming services hurting revenue

“With films moving to streaming services so quickly, it’s challenging to draw audiences to theatres,” said a spokesperson from Radhika Asian theatres to NewsMeter. “This trend has been demotivating for theatre owners and has had a significant impact on our revenue and operations,” they added.

A representative from Cinepolis theatres echoed these concerns to NewsMeter.

“The shift to OTT platforms has fundamentally changed viewing habits. While multiplexes have a slight edge, single-screen theatres are bearing the brunt of this change. We need to find innovative solutions to bring audiences back to cinemas,” the representative said.

“The temporary shutdown aims to reassess and strategise the future operations of single-screen theatres amidst these ongoing challenges,” they concluded.