75% seating relief ahead of big film releases this month

Kolkata: Multiplexes and single-screen theatres welcomed the relaxation in occupancy limit from 50% to 75% ahead of big releases in February. Operators said it will make a huge difference to the business and signal a return to normalcy. According to multiplex operators, the biggest change would be the removal of restriction on occupancy of adjoining seats.
“In a theatre, the first three rows that comprise 20%-25% seats are not preferred ones and are priced lower. Now, these seats will be empty. In the rest of the theatre, couples or groups can sit together and there will be a gap before another group or couple. In that way, the 75% criteria can easily be met,” said South City mall vice-president Manmohan Bagree.
“The late closure will perhaps allow us to add another show if we start half an hour early. There are releases lined up, like ‘Kakababur Protyaborton’ and ‘Baba Baby O’ that open on February 4, followed by ‘Badhai Do’ and ‘Death on the Nile’ on February 11, and ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ on February 25,” said Inox regional director Amitava Guha Thakurta.
Priya owner Arijit Dutta said, “We would have been happy if it was 100%, but we welcome this change as well. We will screen both big Bengali releases from this week and hope to get a good crowd.”
“We thank our CM who has thought of exhibitors and producers and allowed theatres to operate with 75% capacity. This will boost film lovers’ return to theatres. This is a big step towards normalcy that our state has taken,” said director Shiboprasad Mukherjee.
Actor Gulshanara Khatun, whose movie ‘8/12 Binoy Badal Dinesh’ was released last week, said, “Because of the 50% cap, several viewers were turned away by Nandan authorities where our movie is being screened. The fresh relaxation has come as a breather for us.”