The price of tickets in multiplexes has now been capped at ₹200, bringing cheer to moviegoers. With this, the Chief Minister has conceded to a long-standing demand of the Kannada film industry.
Further, it is now mandatory for multiplexes to screen Kannada and regional language films on at least one screen during prime time — between 1.30 p.m. and 7.30 p.m.
The cap on the ticket price in multiplexes follows the Tamil Nadu model where the maximum price is ₹120. In 2016, a change.org petition to the Chief Minister seeking a cap on multiplex ticket price received nearly 50,000 signatories.
While the film industry has welcomed the move, a senior manager of a national multiplex chain in the city said a call would be taken on the next course of action by the management in Mumbai.
Film-maker Pawan Kumar said differential ticket pricing, with higher price for Hindi and English films, puts Kannada films at a disadvantage since multiplexes work on a revenue-sharing business.
“Even a half-filled show of a Hindi film is more profitable than a full-house Kannada show. With cap on ticket price, Kannada films will get a level-playing field and popular films from any language will get shows they deserve,” he said.
S.V. Rajendra Singh Babu, chairman of the Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy, said the move was estimated to generate an additional revenue of around ₹1,000 crore for the Kannada film industry, which was hitherto lost owing to unfair predatory competition by other language films.
