The fact that big films haven’t been working and the smaller ones are expected to take the OTT route hasn’t been great news for the big-screen business. Naturally, the industry is experimenting with a host of strategies to see what clicks with the viewers, with ticket pricing being top priority. The makers of Chandu Champion decided to cap the ticket prices on the first day of its release to Rs. 150. The same strategy was adopted for the horror-comedy Munjya, which has been doing well at the box office.

Munjya director Aditya Sarpotdar says, “It is a major contributor to the numbers our film has done. We saw how people rushed to the theatres to watch Mr & Mrs Mahi on Cinema Day, when the tickets were priced at Rs. 99. It was a clear indicator for us that people want to watch movies, but there is only a certain amount that they want to spend on tickets.”

Word of mouth plays a huge role in making a film work and that requires more people to hit the cinemas. Low ticket prices is a definite formula for success in that regard. “You have to believe that the audience that comes on the first Friday at a low price will help more people watch the film, even when the prices go up, because of how they talk about your movie,” Sarpotdar explains.

Last year, Zara Hatke Zara Bachke (2023) had a buy one, get one (BOGO) offer on tickets to encourage people to head to cinema halls. Does that pricing strategy work? Trade analyst Taran Adarsh says, “I am strictly against BOGO. Free mein film bana rahe ho kya jo free mein dikha rahe ho? You make a film with so much effort, take a star at astronomical prices and pehle din pe hi BOGO? Star power kis kaam ki hai phir?”

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This (low ticket prices) is a marketing strategy. You invite people and let the movie grow. Producers should only go for low-ticket prices if they are confident about the product.

- Devang Sampat, Managing Director, Cinepolis India