Mumbai: Fortune plays strange games. Ranbir Kapoor’s ‘Shamshera’ bombed at the box office and his ‘Brahmastra’ was round the corner. Wary about the fate of ‘Brahmastra,’ the Multiplex Association of India (MAI) announced that the base price for tickets would be fixed at Rs 75 on September 16, National Cinema Day, so as to draw crowds to cinema halls.
But lo and behold! Upon its release on September 9, Bahmastra turned out to be a huge success and set the cash registers ringing. So now, September 23 is being observed as National Cinema Day. According to trade analysts, the Sunny Deol and Dulquer Salmaan-starrer ‘Chup’ and R. Madhavan starrer ‘Dhokha’ both releasing tomorrow (September 23) will benefit largely from the record attendance of the audience.
Giving an explanation for postponing the event, MAI, in its official statement said, “The Multiplex Association of India (MAI) and Cinemas across India, welcome moviegoers to spend a day at the movies with a celebratory admission price of ₹75 to mark National Cinema Day. The National Cinema Day was previously announced to be held on 16th September, however, on request from various ‘stakeholders’ and in order to maximise participation, it would now be held on 23rd September.”
Cinemas recording sold out shows in advance on ‘National Cinema Day’#NationalCinemaDay2022 #September23 pic.twitter.com/PB8v6Xu5D0
— Multiplex Association Of India (@MAofIndia) September 22, 2022
The MAI, a parent body of major multiplex organisations said in its official release that, 4000 theatres in the country will be participating in this event to make an invitation to the audience for the successful reopening of the cinemas at a subsidised rate. However, there will be exceptions such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Telangana, which would not be participating in this exercise due to inbound regulations but have promised to unveil their own reduced price segment for tickets.
Here’s what business analyst Taran Adarsh wrote about National Cinema Day on his Twitter handle
FANTASTIC DEVELOPMENT… CINEMAS RECORDING SOLD OUT SHOWS ON NATIONAL CINEMA DAY 2022… Have always said it and I repeat, make cinema ticket affordable for the audience + give them good content, the #BO numbers will certainly shatter all myths and records! #NationalCinemaDay2022 pic.twitter.com/rM2AVWFvoh
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) September 22, 2022
Though cinemas in India will charge a flat amount of Rs 75 for every film, online third-party apps or websites can levy additional taxes. For instance, BookMyShow is still liable to charge additional internet fees and GST on top of the Rs 75 price tag. If moviegoers want to save every penny, they can wait in queues like in the old days, NDTV reported.
