Cinepolis to invest Rs 800 cr to up screens

It plans to open 180 screens in southern India, including 70 screens in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

Cinépolis, an international cinema exhibitor having its presence in India, plans to invest around Rs 800 crore in in the country to increase the number screens to 400 from the present 84 in 13 cities.

Post expansion, the seating capacity of the Mexican multiplex in the country will reach up to 88,000 from the current 17,600, according to Alejandro Alejandro Ramirez Magana, chief executive officer of Cinépolis (Global).

“We plan to have 400 screens all over the country by the end of 2017. And each screen will be set up with an average cost of Rs 2.5 crore.  We have already opened 84 screens and the remaining 316 will be opened by the end of 2017,” Magana said.

The expansion plans include opening 180 screens in southern India, including 70 screens in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, according to him. The company has invested US $40 million so far in in India and achieved operational break-even in 2012. It registered an average occupancy rate of 40 per cent across its screens in India. Worldwide it has over 570,000 seats.

Cinépolis is the world’s 4th largest movie theatre circuit operating more than 3,400 screens in 11 countries.

Javier Sotomayor, managing director, Cinépolis India, said Kochi and Vijayawada were  among the eight  upcoming multiplex locations. It has 22 operational screens in South India.