PVR posts highest-ever BO collections of Rs 530 cr on 'KGF: Chapter 2’s' might

Multiplex chain PVR Limited reported its highest-ever quarterly net box office collection of Rs 530 crore during April-June 2022, driven by a spate of blockbuster hits, mostly from the south Indian film industry, as well as higher ticket prices, according to quarterly results announced on Thursday.  

The number, 16 per cent higher than the Rs 456.6 crore it made during April-June 2019, also indicates a strong recovery from the pandemic, which forced theatres to remain shut for varying extended periods of time between March-end 2020 and January 2022. FY20 numbers are taken as the benchmark for comparison as the pandemic affected the movie exhibition business badly. 

KGF: Chapter 2 (across the languages it was released in) alone accounted for Rs 121.4 crore of PVR’s Rs 530 crore net box office collection, making the Kannada film PVR’s all-time highest grosser. Other films which boosted the multiplex chain’s revenues include RRR (all languages, Rs 93.7 crore), Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (Hindi, Rs 47.4 crore), Dr Strange (English, Rs 45.8 crore) and Vikram (Tamil, Rs 26 crore), according to figures from its investors’ presentation. 

PVR is a multiplex with most of its screens concentrated in metro and tier-1 cities. Based on the language in which a title was played, Hindi dominated its box office collection at 46%. But this includes the Hindi-dubbed south Indian films and the number has stayed flat compared to the 47% three years ago.  

The combined contribution of Telugu, Tamil, Punjabi, Kannada, Malayalam and other languages, however, went up from 23% to 38%, reflecting the larger trend of regional films’ increasing appeal among moviegoers in various parts of the country. Tamil alone contributed 14%, while Telugu accounted for 11%. 

“This quarter’s results are a reflection of the strength of the domestic ­film industry we have in India and the consumer’s unsatiated appetite to watch ­films on the big screen,” said Ajay Bijli, Chairman cum Managing Director, PVR Limited. 

PVR’s average ticket price (ATP) has gone up 23% from Rs 203 in April-June 2019 to Rs 250 in the quarter under review. But its occupancy fell from 27 million to 25 million, despite this being the first quarter where theatres were allowed to remain open throughout and one with a series of blockbuster hits. 

The pandemic and the ensuing OTT onslaught came as a body blow to the exhibition industry, forcing the country’s top two multiplex chains – PVR Limited and INOX Leisure – to announce a surprise merger. The merger, which is in the process of taking shape, will create the largest film exhibition company in India with 1,546 screens across 341 properties in 109 cities, and account for 40-45 per cent of overall multiplex revenues. The companies have received ‘No Objection Certi­ficates’ from the BSE and NSE for the merger and will seek the National Company Law Tribunal’s approval as well. 

PVR Limited posted a total revenue of Rs 1,000 crore during the quarter, up from Rs 887 crore three years ago. Its profit after tax rose to Rs 68.3 crore from Rs 44.2 crore in Q1FY20. The company has maintained that it will add 125 new screens in the full financial year of 2022-23, with 14 screens opened in the first quarter.