According to the Multiplex Association of India (MAI), around 6.5 million people attended movies on National Cinema Day, which was observed on Friday to mark the successful reopening of movie theatres. More than 4000 screens from throughout the nation took part in the programme, including theatre chains like PVR, INOX, Cinepolis, Carnival, Miraj, Citypride, Mukta A2, Movie Time, Wave, M2K, and Delite.
Several movie theatres began showing films on Friday at 6 am as part of the one-day celebration, charging a "celebratory admission price" of Rs 75. "Audiences of all ages gathered in theatres to commemorate this momentous day. The 23rd of September was the best attended day of the year for the Indian film industry, and we are grateful to the 6.5 million or so moviegoers who came to their neighbourhood theatre to buy tickets, said MAI president Kamal Gianchandani in a statement.
Since the COVID-19 outbreak started in March 2020, theatres all throughout the country have struggled to draw in a sizable crowd. A good turnout resulted from the National Cinema Day, which was observed weeks after the release of the smash film "Brahmastra: Part One Shiva" starring Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt.
The suspenseful movies "Chup: Revenge of the Artist" by director R Balki and "Dhokha: Round D Corner," starring R Madhavan, also received favourable reviews from ticket buyers.
The audience is thrilled to watch movies for Rs 75, as stated by Rajender Singh Jyala, chief programming officer at INOX Leisure Ltd. "All the theatres, all the shows, and all the movies are houseful," he continued. The day with the biggest attendance in movie history will be this one. "Around 6 lakh people visited our 702 screens around India. As there are more screenings, "Brahmastra" is the most popular movie, followed by "Chup," "Dhokha: Round D Corner," "Avatar," and "Sita Ramam," according to Jyala, speaking to PTI.
He believed that efforts like this should be implemented frequently to get audiences to the theatres.
It has been the "most spectacular" day for theatres in the nation, according to exhibitor and distributor Sunny Chandiramani, who manages 25 screens in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
"The feedback has been incredible. We're inundated. All events are sold out, and today's occupancy was the highest ever, Chandiramani told PTI. On September 16, National Cinema Day was scheduled to take place. However, it was postponed until September 23 at the urging of numerous stakeholders and in an effort to increase participation.
