Falling footfalls prompt single screens across Telangana to shut down temporarily

Low footfalls prompt single screens across Telangana to shut down temporarily

Summers are essentially the time movie lovers would expect to see several high profile Telugu films releasing in theatres as production houses line up star-led films to cash in on the holiday season. Summer of 2024 has so far turned out to be a damp squib with just one blockbuster, Tillu Square. With other small and medium budget films failing to draw the crowds and the much-awaited big budget film Kalki 2898AD postponing its release to steer clear of the election season, both single screens and multiplexes have been witnessing meagre footfalls.

Beginning May 15, nearly 450 single-screen cinema theatres in Telangana have decided to shut down for 10 to 15 days. Vijayender Reddy, president of the Telangana Film Exhibitors Association, has stated that single screens in the state have individually decided to not screen films, to tide over the losses. In a statement to the media, he explained that single-screen theatres in small centres incur an operational expenditure of ₹10,000 to ₹12,000 while in cities like Hyderabad, the expenses range between ₹15,000 and ₹18,000 per day. With films failing to draw the audience, he stated that this revenue has fallen below ₹4,000 per day. A theatre is likely to incur a loss of about ₹4,000 per day if it remains closed, but stands to lose ₹6,000 if a film is screened, he added.

Vijayender Reddy noted that theatre owners would be willing to screen films if a producer comes forward and makes an upfront payment as a minimum guarantee. 

Among the Telugu films that released on May 10, only Krishnamma managed to draw some moviegoers in the opening week while Prathinidhi 2 and Aarambham received lukewarm response. Scheduled to release on May 17 is a film titled Raju Yadav, starring Getup Srinu. On the same day, Baahubali: Crown of Blood animation series will begin to stream on Disney+ Hotstar. 

A few medium budget films including the Vishwak Sen starrer Gangs of Godavari and Satyabhama starring Kajal Aggarwal are scheduled to arrive in theatres on May 31.