Single screen cinemas going extinct soon

As a development, it is nothing short of heartbreak for the average cinema viewer. The numbers may have been on the decline over the years, yet, watching a movie in a single screen cinema hall has continued to be an experience of its own for them. Many among Gen Z cinema viewers may twitch their noses at having to sit next to the hoi polloi who don’t conform to ‘people like them’. Still, at least in the two Telugu states of south India, standalone cinema theatres are existing, taking on the multiplexes and offering a unique brand of onscreen entertainment for its dedicated patrons.

Surely, all this is going to end. If not today, by day after tomorrow, figuratively speaking. In a long time, one hadn’t heard of these theatres announcing a shutdown, unable to withstand the pulls and pressures of the box-office business.Cinema lovers must have read that 200+ theatres in Telangana had closed down for the whole of last week, with a renewed attempt at attracting the trickling in crowd from Friday, as they reopen to screen the new releases.

In a bid to match the superior multiplexes, the old-time theatres upgraded the interiors, improved the acoustics and screening quality in recent times. Still, despite continuing in business for decades, they find themselves terribly unsure of carrying on. A torrid phase in which many of them are left to fend for themselves, operating in a business environment, which gives them lesser liquidity and only recurring expenses to keep the theatres running.

Telugu cinema in the last few years has had its own highs and lows, with a few mega ventures like ‘Baahubali’ giving them a global reach and recognition. However, the masala market to which the formula-driven directors pander to is still the main gadget put to use to spin the wheels of entertainment.

A fickle business which has often crushed the producers and left many movie banners high and dry, cinema world has inexplicably been found to be lead- footed when it comes to upgrading and reorienting itself in accordance with changing audience preferences. It is not uncommon to see ‘legendary’ actors, directors and erstwhile trendsetters deluding themselves about their invincibility and delivering duds, one after the other, yet refusing to learn.

This is happening in Telugu moviedom, too, where big names are consistent in churning out terrible flops and small movies fail to receive the traction and support from the system – comprising a clique of producers, distributors, OTT channels etc. The end result is that the exhibitors who run single theatres are forced to enter into desperate deals or stick to time-tested business methods to run their units. Once again, there are reports that the theatres are seeking a revised revenue-sharing formula, moving away from the current ones, which do not give them the much-needed cushion to weather fluctuations in the film business. Even here, one reads that a few privileged cinema halls are patronized exclusively by film producers to run their movies, giving them a higher share of the collections. Surely, a level playing field must be ensured to see that the common man and his family which cannot afford the grandeur and cost of watching movies in multiplexes must be enabled to watch movies at their neighbourhood favourite theatres. Only if they continue to survive and serve them!