Indo-Pak tensions: Cinemas, malls bear the brunt of conflict during weekend

Footfalls at malls in shopping centres and malls in Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab and Rajasthan are also impacted

Cinema halls and malls near the Western border are bearing the brunt of the India-Pakistan conflict, with night shows being cancelled at certain cities and footfall plummeting to new lows. 

 

In Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), Punjab and Rajasthan, they are staying open only for a few hours, depending on the situation.

 

Some cities like Chandigarh, Bhuj, Amritsar, Srinagar, and Pathankot have stopped night shows (movies starting between 8 pm and 10 pm), sources told Business Standard.

 

Amit Sharma, managing director (MD), Miraj Entertainment, said, “There are a few places near the border where we (Miraj Cinemas) have been asked to stop night shows. They include Gurdaspur and Pathankot.”

 

He added, “I don’t think there will be any major impact (on revenue) due to the ongoing situation. It is also because we don’t have many movies to run right now. For the rest of India, shows are running normally.”

 

Sharma said no decision has been taken to add morning shows in areas where night shows have been impacted.

 

Film trade analyst Girish Wankhede said that the movie-going sentiment among people has dampened and they are glued to their television channels. They are watching news and consuming content from OTT platforms.

 

He added that in Maharashtra, the occupancy has dropped to 5-6 per cent from the average 35 per cent. As a result, cinemas are shutting down one-two screens now.

 

Nitin Datar, president, Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association, India (COEAI), agrees with Wankhede. Datar anticipates that occupancy in the theatres will be impacted in the near future.

 

Wankhede added that footfalls were already very low in 2024 compared to 2023 and he expected them to be even lower in 2025.

 

This comes after a 6 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) decline in footfalls to 883 million in 2024, which were lower than the pre-pandemic levels, according to a report by Ormax, a media and entertainment consulting firm.

 

“This year will again see huge losses as it has got only a few popular content like Sky Force and Chhaava. Now Raid 2, which has already achieved ₹98 crore will soon complete ₹100 crore at the box office. Excluding these three films, hardly any other movie has done well,” he said.

 

In malls and shopping centres, some areas have had to shut down due to blackouts.

 

According to an executive at a mall in Punjab, footfalls have dropped and are even lower during evenings.

 

“On Friday, we shut the mall early following government protocol, but footfalls have definitely dropped,” he said.

 

Another industry executive said there have been mall and market closures in cities like Amritsar, Jalandhar, Srinagar, Jammu, Udhampur Chandigarh, and Ambala from May 7 to May 10.

 

“In certain areas, malls followed advisories for blackout protocols, which included switching off external signages and lighting, temporarily pausing business operations, and coordinating with the enforcement authorities. In Srinagar and Udhampur, for instance, brief but complete power outages were reported, which malls handled seamlessly through backup systems and emergency lighting,” said RS Roy, executive director of IRF Trusted Mark, which works closely with the Shopping Centres Association of India. Roy added that many malls have also conducted safety drills.  

Dull times

 

> Cities such as Chandigarh, Bhuj, Amritsar, Srinagar, and Pathankot, among others, have no night shows 

> In Maharashtra, the occupancy has dropped to 5-6 per cent

> People are more glued to the television channels, watching news, and OTT platforms, according to film trade analyst Girish Wankhede

> At malls and shopping centres, some areas have had to shut down due to blackouts