New Delhi: The success of movies Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, Gadar 2 and OMG 2 has lifted sales in malls in August with retailers reporting a 10-15% increase in footfalls and sales in comparison with last month.

“Around six-seven releases have actually worked well for cinema’s occupancy and people have come back to the screen. There is an increase of footfall by a good 10-11% and that helped F&B and apparel. Typically, people come in to have food and also shop before or after the movie,” said Pushpa Bector, senior executive director at DLF Retail that operates premium malls in the Delhi-National Capital Region.

Other movies that have brought back people to cinemas include Barbie and Oppenheimer.

After Pathaan in January, box-office collections have been tepid although the release of The Kerala Story in May and Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning - Part One in July managed to revive revenue of malls to an extent. An ET reporter visited three premium malls in the NCR and about two dozen retailers across different categories said they witnessed a similar jump.

“We have seen some changes week to week, especially last week when we saw movie releases. Even the Independence Day weekend was a strong weekend and there was good, healthy growth,” said Shailesh Chaturvedi, managing director and CEO of Arvind Fashions that sells brands like US Polo Assn, Arrow, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Flying Machine and Sephora in India. According to the Retailers Association of India, sales in July 2023 showed growth of 9% compared with a year earlier. The growth rate has slowed from March onwards.

“There has been at least 10% growth in the footfalls due to the people coming back to theatres and a part of that crowd has contributed to the growth of F&B and shopping as well. Average time spent by a person in the mall has gone up considerably,” said Jayakumar Gangadharan, regional director, Lulu Mall, Lucknow.

“Cinemas are the largest crowd puller for a mall. While only serious shoppers come when there is no good movie running, the footfall from a theatre is a bonus for retailers,” said Harsh V Bansal, cofounder of Unity group that operates over half a dozen malls in Delhi and Punjab.