BENGALURU : Fear of the Covid-19 pandemic seems to have overridden the excitement among people of going to theatres to enjoy a movie on the big screen. The first weekend of the reopening of cinema halls after the lockdown saw a poor response from filmgoers, with theatres getting just 10-15 per cent footfall.
However, owners say they are hopeful that the business will bounce back with the festival season coming up. Single-screen theatres as well as multiplexes donned a deserted look during the weekend, even though they opened after a gap of six months.
For instance, Santosh theatre near Chickpet, which is currently playing late actor Chiranjeevi Sarja’s last movie Shivarjuna, which would have otherwise got thronged by Chiru’s fans, had hardly a few visitors for the shows. “We are currently running four shows of Shivarjuna. Although we have a capacity of 1,000 seats, only 150-180 seats are being sold,” said Manju Bidappa, manager of the theatre.
He added that they are now pinning their hopes on next week for the numbers to pick up, because of the
Dasara festival. Theatres are following the government orders and maintaining an auditorium occupancy of 50 per cent, with alternate seats being left vacant. Ticket counters and food counters have floor markers in place to ensure that people maintain a safe distance.
Roshan Ashoka, owner of Ashoka theatre in Hessarghatta, says even with a reduced occupancy, they are taking safety precautions very seriously. “Apart from all the government protocols we are also sanitising the seats after every show,” he said. The theatre is also currently playing Shivarjuna. However, Ashoka pointed out that even the sentimental value of the movie could not bring many viewers to the theatre in the first week.
Not just single screen theatres, even multiplexes like PVR and Inox witnessed a similar experience. Officials told CE on the condition of anonymity that they too witnessed a footfall of 10-15 percent.
Some cinema halls in the city, however, decided to adopt the wait-and-watch approach. Srinivasa Theatre, located at SG Palya, remained closed during the weekend. “We are opening the theatre from Oct. 21 onwards, which will be closer to Dasara, so that we see a better response,” a worker at the theatre said.