As Maharashtra cinemas are set to resume from October 22, PVR is expecting further relaxations in seating capacity where cases are minimal, Nitin Sood, chief financial officer (CFO), told CNBC-TV18.

Cinema stocks staged a big rally on September 27, as Maharashtra allowed theatres to open. While detailed standard operating procedures (SOPs) are yet to be issued. Maharashtra is the chief contributor to PVR's revenue and the state forms around 25 percent of the total Hindi box office revenue in the country.

“Maharashtra announcement has been really welcome. And it's starting right at the festive season. Within 24 hours of the announcement, by the chief minister, we saw a huge list of films being announced by various studios and production houses for release,” Sood said.

Also Read: Maharashtra cinema halls to reopen from Oct 22; schools to resume from Oct 4

On capacity, he said, “Telangana has been the first state which announced 100 percent capacity in cinemas. This was followed by Rajasthan. Karnataka has come out with an announcement where they are now going to allow 100 percent capacity from October 1. So, it's a matter of time, maybe after getting reasonable comfort in the initial few weeks, some of these restrictions will go away and both producers and cinemas will work together to get the audience back.”

For the entire management interview, watch the video

(Edited by : Anshul)

First Published:Sept 28, 2021 5:14 PM IST