PVR Inox plans a new script beyond the big screen

Mumbai: PVR Inox is reimagining its upcoming cinemas as multi-purpose social hubs, even as movie watching remains central to its offering, a senior company executive said.

This shift comes in response to declining footfalls, attributed to a lack of strong film content, and lacklustre financial performance.

Pramod Arora, CEO-growth & investment at PVR Inox, said the company is integrating cafes, co-working spaces and live entertainment into its theatres.

PVR Inox reported revenue of ₹4,642.4 crore for the nine months ended December 2024, down from ₹4,958.2 crore in the same period of the previous year. It posted a net loss of ₹155.6 crore for the first nine months of the last fiscal year compared with a net profit of ₹97 crore a year earlier.

On Monday, its share closed 0.5% higher at ₹982.6 on the BSE, compared with the 52-week high of ₹1,748.2.

Arora said goal is to create venues where people can socialise, work, dine and relax - even without watching a movie - to maximise the utilisation of cinema properties.

Additionally, the company is expanding aggressively into tier-2 and -3 cities under a FOCO (franchisee-owned, company-operated) asset-light model. It currently operates 1,734 screens across 351 properties in 110 cities in India and Sri Lanka. The asset light model has helped the company reduce its net debt, which has declined by almost ₹300 crore in 9M FY25 to ₹996 crore.

Under this approach, the capital expenditure is fully or partly funded by developers, while PVR Inox handles operations and management. As of December 2024, it had signed 220 screens across 22 cinemas under this model.

Arora also noted strong interest from real estate-focused investors in this model, although he did not name them. "They're all coming forward to convert cinema properties into more social, amenable, and communal spaces," he said.