The cinema industry which has been on the revival path since the pandemic had a reason to celebrate in the weekend that just passed. The second weekend of August 2023 (August 11-13) has become the busiest single weekend after re-opening for the industry post the pandemic.

According to the Multiplex Association of India and Producers Guild of India, the weekend saw a new all-time theatrical gross box office record with collections over Rs 390 crore, drawing more than 2.10 crore moviegoers to theatres across the country, which is also the highest combined admissions record in the last 10-year history.

This weekend saw the release of three prominent films: the Rajnikanth-starrer "Jailer," Sunny Deol's "Gadar 2," and Akshay Kumar's "OMG 2." "Jailer" achieved a opening day collection of approximately Rs 48 crore and a weekend gross box office collection of about 127 crore. Meanwhile, "Gadar 2" swiftly amassed box office collections of Rs 40 crore on its inaugural day.

PVR INOX, which is currently the market leader in the space also said in a stock exchange filing that it achieved the highest ever admissions and box office in a single day across its circuit on August 13, 2023. Shares of PVR INOX are trading at Rs 1727, up 5 percent from the previous close on the BSE.

"We entertained 12.8 lakh guests and earned Gross box office revenue of Rs 39.5 crores," it said in a statement.

For the entire weekend, the company saw 33.6 lakh people coming to the cinemas and earned gross box office revenue of over Rs 100 crore.

Shibasish Sarkar, President of the Producers Guild of India, attributed this success to the execution of mainstream storytelling.

“Mainstream storytelling executed in the right way has resulted in the box office records being shattered. The turnout at theatres has infused a new energy in our Industry,” he added.

These record footfalls come after years of a lull faced by the industry which was forced to shut down during the pandemic and following the opening, failed to impress when it came to occupancy rates and footfalls, barring a few blockbuster movies like Pathaan.

For the quarter gone by, PVR INOX saw an occupancy rate of 22.3 percent. However, Q2 started on a strong note for the industry with releases like Oppenheimer, Barbie & Rocky & Rani ki Prem Kahani drawing cinema goers back to theatres.

Oppenheimer and Barbie opened with 68 percent occupancy on the opening weekend. While Oppenheimer is on track to clock Rs 100 crore in collections for PVR INOX, Barbie is set to clock Rs 40 crore, Gautam Dutta, CEO of PVR INOX told CNBC-TV18.

Rocky & Rani ki Prem Kahani also opened to 75 percent occupancy.

“This weekend is also an undeniable demonstration of Cinemas being the ultimate place to be part of a shared experience. Cinemas across the country would like to thank and congratulate our Filmmakers and Studios for pushing the boundaries to deliver unforgettable storytelling. This weekend shows that movies and cinemas are back in a big, big way. We look forward to this momentum continuing in the rest of 2023” said Kamal Gianchandani, President MAI said.

First Published:Aug 14, 2023 1:39 PM IST