Why are moviegoers staying home?

Why are people not going to the movies?” “Tickets are expensive,” comes the prompt reply if you ask almost anyone – be it a moviegoer or someone from the film industry. Add to that the easy availability of films on streaming platforms. The average moviegoer, directors feel, increasingly finds oneself priced out and left behind. But this disconnect is not the only reason why films are struggling to get audiences in theatres.

The Multiplex Association of India (MAI), the apex body representing multiplex exhibitors nationwide, has released a comprehensive report titled The Story of Film Exhibition in India , prepared by Ernst & Young, highlighting the economic contribution and policy imperatives of India’s film exhibition sector. According to the report, which examines moviegoing patterns between 2019 and 2024, over 80% of moviegoers still want to watch films in theatres, but more than 50% say the biggest issue is the quality of movies being made.

As per the report and industry insiders, the problem is not a lack of movies, it is a steady erosion of moviegoing as a habit, driven largely by audiences losing faith in what is being offered on the big screen.

What’s the screens situation now

The number of cinema screens in India has seen a marginal increase from 9,527 screens in 2019 to 9,927 screens in 2024

Screens per million of the population have fallen from 7.6 in 2018 to 6.8 in 2024

Single screens have been the most impacted segment, reducing by ~ 1,000 during the period of 2018 to 2024

Even large chains have reduced their investments between 2019 and 2024 by 12%

Filmed entertainment revenues fall from 2019

India’s filmed entertainment revenues have fallen by 2% from their peak in 2019, decreasing from ₹19,100 crore to ₹18,746 crore in 2024. The revenue per screen has decreased by 5%, from ₹1.21 crore in 2019 to ₹1.15 crore in 2024