Multiplex tickets set to get dearer

Get ready to shell out more money at the new multiplexes.

Retail rentals, been escalating in Kolkata by 10-15 per cent year on year, is set to push up ticket prices at the new multiplexes.

A spokesperson of Inox claimed, "Ticket prices at multiplexes depend on several factors most important being the demography of the area. A lot of research goes into how much audiences of that area would spend at a multiplex, depending on which, ticket pricing strategies are formed.”

According to a spokesperson of Fame Cinemas, "Tickets are priced depending on perceptions. If movies like Rock On and Bachhna Ae Haseeno are expected to score well with audiences, tickets would automatically be priced higher."

According to industry sources, the new malls charge rentals at nearly Rs 150 - 250 per square feet, while retailers in some of the malls occupying space from 2003-2005, pay as less as Rs 40 per square feet. Therefore, the retailers who set up shop at the earlier malls like in City Centre in Salt Lake, still pay as less as Rs 40 per sq ft rental, as part of their contract. However, new retailers setting up shop now at the same locations have to shell out almost Rs 200 per sq ft, thanks to escalating mall rentals.

Already, rentals paid by retailers at the new malls like South City and Mani Square are more than double compared to what the old retailers have to shell out at Forum on Elgin Road and City Centre in Salt Lake even today. So the earlier occupants are at a clear advantage.

This has also resulted in higher ticket prices at multiplexes opening at the new malls.

To place it in context, Inox Forum on Elgin Road, which is in the heart of the city, has priced tickets at Rs 170 and Rs 190 for movies like ‘Rock On’, ‘What Happens in Vegas’, and ‘A Wednesday’.

While Fame Cinemas at South City mall, which is not a commercial hub in Kolkata, has priced tickets upwards of Rs 200 for the same movies.

The Fame Hiland Park property, which is outside the hustle bustle of the city, has priced tickets between Rs 110 and Rs 170 for the same movies.

The morning shows, across multiplexes, however see tickets priced between Rs 50 and Rs 80.

Fame South City has also introduced the lifestyle concept of ‘Gold Class’ where tickets are priced at Rs 500 because benefits include ultra-reclining seats in addition to exclusive butler services.

The same price escalation is expected when Cinemax opens in Mani Square and Fun Cinemas opens at Lake Mall later this year.

The standalone theatres, on the other hand, have been escalating ticket prices too in the name of infrastructure renovation, although very little renovation is visible at present.

At Menoka and Malancha, which are currently showing ‘Bachhna Ae Haseeno’, tickets are priced between Rs 60 and Rs 100, while that at the multiplexes are nearly double.

For big-ticket movies, multiplexes usually have a revenue sharing agreement with the movie producers in the range of 38-50 per cent of amount collected from sale of tickets in the first week, which again varies between cities.

The following weeks see revenue sharing between 20 and 40 per cent of the amount collected from ticket sales.

According to sources, Inox Forum and City Centre each see footfall of close to 2500 per day. Fame Hiland Park and South City and 89 Cinemas each see footfall of around 1400-1800 per day.