Mumbai: Indian cinemas had their best quarter on record, and the numbers explain why the multiplex business is talking about a recovery rather than a slump.
Gross box office collections in India reached Rs 4,443 crore in the quarter ended September 30, up 23 per cent year on year, according to Ormax Media and company estimates cited by PVR INOX. It is the first time the market has crossed Rs 4,000 crore in a single quarter. First-half collections stood at Rs 7,618 crore, up 22 per cent.
PVR INOX's own numbers followed. Revenue for Q2 FY27 came in at Rs 2,133 crore, 17 per cent up from Rs 1,818.7 crore a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA rose 44 per cent to Rs 475.2 crore and the margin widened to 22.3 per cent from 18.1. Profit after tax from continuing operations more than doubled to Rs 273.3 crore.
Footfalls rose 4 per cent to 46.3 million, occupancy improved to 30.4 per cent from 28.7, the average ticket price climbed 14 per cent to Rs 298 and average spending on food and beverage per head rose 14 per cent to Rs 153.
English films did the heaviest lifting, with collections up 87 per cent to Rs 1,024 crore. Spider-Man: Brand New Day became the highest-grossing English film in India at Rs 608 crore, and Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey collected Rs 233 crore. Hindi collections, including dubbed titles, grew 12 per cent, with Hanuman Ansh at Rs 351 crore and Mirzapur: The Movie at Rs 267 crore. Regional cinema grew 12 per cent.
"Q2 FY27 has been a landmark quarter for Indian cinema and PVR INOX. We achieved record quarterly and half-yearly revenue, EBITDA and PAT, supported by strong content, higher consumer spends and disciplined costs," said Managing Director Ajay Bijli. Margins are now above pre-Covid levels, he added.
The chain operated 1,797 screens across 114 cities in India and Sri Lanka as of September 30. It opened 24 screens across six cinemas in the first half and exited 25, largely at loss-making locations, and plans 90 to 100 additions in FY27. Its first SMART Cinema, a format built for smaller tier III and IV towns, opened in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, in September.
PVR INOX generated Rs 603.5 crore of free cash flow in the first half and repaid Rs 258.6 crore of debt. After completing a Rs 300-crore buyback, it still held net cash of Rs 140.7 crore.