Kolkata movie theatres hit by terror fears

Standalone theatres as well as multiplexes in the city have seen a dip in ticket sales as consumers deliberately avoided public places for the last one week anticipating a replication of Mumbai terror attacks in Kolkata.

The worst hit are standalone theatres like New Empire, Roxy, Paradise, etc, as these are located in New Market, one of the biggest commercial and leisure destinations in the city.

According to Arijit Dutta of Priya Cinemas, “We have seen a drop of 40-50 per cent in occupancy. A lot of consumers are deliberately avoiding public places on weekends. Moreover, the recent movie releases were not that enthralling either.”

The Friday releases Sorry Bhai! and Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! have been hit.

Movie theatres like Roxy and Paradise reportedly incurred combined losses of Rs 30,000-40,000.

Multiplexes too have been hit and are waiting for the Khans to boost footfalls and occupancy rate. Shahrukh Khan’s ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’ will release on December 12 and Aamir Khan’s ‘Ghajini’ will arrive on December 25.

According to a spokesperson of Fame Cinemas, Fame South City and Fame Hiland Park have recorded ‘marginal dip’ in footfall as consumers still fear a repeat of 26/11 in Kolkata.

According to Virendra Marya- regional director - East, Inox Leisure, “It is true that after the terror attacks, consumers are cautious. But the three Inox properties have seen a marginal dip in the night shows in the last one week.”

“Lack of content is also an issue, as most of the blockbusters like Dostana and Fashion are in their third or fourth week now. If Shahrukh Khan starrer Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Aamir Khan’s Ghajini would have released this week, occupancy may not have dipped,” Marya added.

The average footfall in multiplexes on weekdays in the last one week varied between 2000-2500 and 3000-3500 on weekends. Films like Fashion, Dostana, Golmaal Returns and Quantum of Solace have had houseful occupancies at multiplexes for two-three weekends continuously and an average occupancy as high as 75-80 per cent even on weekdays before the terror attack.