A.P. govt revises movie ticket prices, conditionally allows five shows

At least 20% of the runtime of big budget movies need to be shot in A.P. in order to avail special pricing

The State government has issued a fresh order revising cinema ticket prices and has also allowed conditional special pricing for 'super big budget' films that were shot in the State. The new rules were issued after taking into consideration the recommendations of all stakeholders following the High Court order, the G.O. says.

According to the government order issued on Monday, the rate of admission into the theatres in a municipal corporation was fixed at ₹60 and it was ₹50 and ₹40 in municipality and nagar or gram oanchayats respectively under premium category seats for non-AC halls. Under the non-premium category, the ticket price would be ₹20 lesser.

Similarly, for AC theatres, the ticket price would be ₹100 in a municipal corporation and ₹80 and ₹70 in a municipality and nagar or gram panchayat respectively for premium category seats. Non-premium category seats in an AC theatre in a municipal corporation would be ₹70 and it would be ₹60 and ₹50 in municipalities and panchayats respectively.

As per the order, the government created a new category of theatres called 'special theatres'. Single-screen theatres with amenities, ambience and sound on par with multiplex theatres will be considered as special theatres and a district-level committee to identify such theatres will be constituted soon, the G.O. said.

The ticket price for premium category seats in a corporation would be ₹125 and ₹100 for a non-premium seat. In municipalities and panchayats, special theatres are allowed to charge ₹100 and ₹90 respectively while the price would be ₹20 less for non-premium seats.

At least 25% of the seats in all the theatres except multiplexes should be earmarked as non-premium seats to enable a cinema-going experience for those who cannot afford the premium seats, the order said.

For multiplexes in municipal corporations, ticket price is fixed at ₹150. It would be ₹125 in municipalities and ₹100 in panchayats. For recliner seats in any area, the ticket price would be ₹250.

As per the government orders that were challenged in the High Court, the ticket prices started at ₹5 based on the category of theatre and its location.

‘Super big budget’

The order also stated that five shows per day would be allowed in a cinema on the condition that one show be reserved for small budget movies every day. A film with a budget of less than ₹20 crore including remuneration of the cast will be considered as a low budget film.

All movies whose budget is more than ₹100 crore excluding remuneration of the lead actors and director would be considered as super big-budget movies and the government will fix special prices for 10 days from the date of release on a case to case basis. However, at least 20% of the film should be shot in Andhra Pradesh, the order states.

The government will soon release guidelines regarding the sale of online tickets for all theatres. Separate guidelines regarding the categorisation of films based on the budget will also be issued, as per the order.