Dwindling patronage from the filmgoers following the demonetisation has prompted the exhibitors to look for options to ensure cash-less transactions. For the last 10 days, cinema theatres in the city are screening the shows for only 20 per cent of audience of the hall capacity, while the remaining seats stay vacant.
The managements suffered to convince the audience against refusal of high denomination on the first couple of days. They, however, started waiting for audience from the third day with the movie buffs finding their places in the queues at banks and ATMs, instead of that of the cinema halls.
In a place where the number of theatres and patronage for films are high and practices such as online booking are quite unusual, demonetisation has made a major dent to the business of not only the cinema halls, but the ancillary trades such as vehicle parking and canteens. “We have reduced the quantity of snack items for the last one week, as there is sudden fall in sales. Even for purchase of ₹ 10 and ₹ 20, people are tendering ₹ 2,000 note and demanding small change,” rues R. Mahalakshmi, who runs a canteen adjacent to the twin theatre complex Chanakya-Chandragupta on the Cinema Road.
Of the 16 cinema halls in the city, 13 are air-conditioned, where the entry fee is anything between ₹ 30 and ₹ 90. Though online booking facility is available with eight theatres, the records indicate that only eight per cent seats are filled through the facility, that too in the first week of the release of big budget films. The service tax involved in the online booking seems to be the deterrent for many people.
“We have no other option but to go for the installation of the Point of Sale devices at the booking counters, as it appears to be taking long time for the government to address the issue of small change,” says P. Srinivasa Rao, in-charge of Suresh Distributiors, the firm that runs eight air-conditioned screens.
“But, it will take two to three minutes to finish one transaction. Time management, training to our personnel on using the POS device and sensitising people on password protection are issues involved in it,” he observes.
After the gap, a couple of screens used the ‘Housefull’ sign only on Monday with one of the new releases getting rave reviews. “We have to be choosy while spending money, even if it is on cinema. But, good films are always an exception,” points out P.V. Suresh, a filmgoer.
