Pandemic effect: Has movie watching culture taken a beating?

2021 started on a good note for the theatres with many films beelining for releases. While some managed to enjoy a theatrical run, the second wave in the country again put a pause. According to the recent Ormax Cinematix Sentiment Track – Indian audience’s sentiment towards going back to movie theatres in the near future continues to get more conservative. So what does it means for cinemas if there is a growing reluctance to head out to watch a movie on the big screen?

While noting that the willingness of people to sit inside a closed room with strangers for several hours is a genuine problem, Siddharth Anand Kumar, Vice President – Films & Events at Saregama India Ltd, says, “It’s only natural for the audience to be conservative about visiting any place of public gathering and not just theatres. If you go through the study, you would notice that people who have visited theatres since the 2020 lockdown has risen sharply since December. This clearly points that whenever there’s a semblance of normality, people will not hesitate to catch their favourite actors and stories on the big screen and the measured success of Godzilla vs Kong in India being a testament to this fact.”

Exhibitor Akshaye Rathi feels that this sentiment more than anything else is the reaction of death and fear that we have seen around in the last couple of months. “Seeing that kind of environment around puts you in a cocoon and puts a layer of fear in your mind.”

Old Habits Die Hard

Many industry experts opine that cinema watching is in our culture, and it is one of the biggest entertainment options and the old school way of consuming films in the theatre which is a community experience in itself will come back.

“How can this habit go away. Yes, there is fear but that is for now. We will; get over this and come back stronger. I am eagerly waiting that the day will come when they allow for cinemas to open for at least two or three shows. The 70 mm screen effect is different,” says Manoj Desai, executive director of G7 and Maratha Mandir.

Rathi adds, “With cases dipping, cinemas will regain momentum quicker than people can imagine. People have been sitting at home and there is a lot of frustration and there is a demand for recreation and change of scene. Habits formed over 30 or 40 years cannot be change now. There can be a pause but not a full stop.”

A big ticket release is the way

Kumar however feels that there is hope and believes that a lot of people which fall into the undecided category will gradually get much more receptive towards big screen entertainment once a sizeable chunk of population is vaccinated.

“I am sure that people will start getting more receptive towards catching films on the big screen by Diwali with the nation hoping to return to normalcy. We all are craving to live our pre-Covid lives, and big screen entertainment was a regular part of our lives during the times when we didn’t have to wear masks. Big Screen entertainment and theatres are here to stay, especially with mass entertainers like Sooryavanshi and ‘83 choosing to bide their time and release in theatres when the situation is conducive,” he shares.

Even Rathi adds, “What we saw in earlier this year is that when a solid films like Master came in The theatres in the south region, it did unprecedented number. One big ticket movie will be compelling enough to get people back to cinemas, so that film has to release.”

Global trend is reassuring

Hollywood film A Quiet Place Part II by John Krasinski has generated approximately $222.6 revenue to date upon its release on May 28 and that is being cheered on by many in India as well as they feel that it is a stamp on the fact that the big screen magic can never go away.

“The film is doing so well, so it is not that the audience needed to be trained. So that will be the case here as well. F9 is the next big release being touted in the US market. It is happening in every country and if the world’s number 1 and number market which is US and China are doing phenomenal numbers then that means that the audience is not going away anywhere. The reference point is always globally, in many of the countries where the large part of the disease has come to some level of control, where the vaccination has been controlled, the consumer and audience has come out to the outdoor habits,” shares Shibasish Sarkar, Group CEO of Reliance Entertainment.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh concludes that the charm of the big screen will be revived in the coming months. “It has been revived everywhere. Look at the US and Australia box office. It is picking up and how.”