It isn’t uncommon to see ticket prices skyrocketing when a film headlined by big stars is gearing up for release. However, if you thought it would deter the audience from going to the theatres, you are wrong. Sample this: A ticket for Ranbir Kapoor’s upcoming film Animal, which is scheduled to release this week, has been priced at Rs 2,400 at PVR Director’s Cut in Delhi for the evening shows.
A quick online check will tell you that the amount is almost equivalent to a one-way air ticket from Mumbai to Goa. But, it looks like no price is too steep for Kapoor’s fans. The Sandeep Reddy Vanga-directed film, which also features Rashmika Mandana, Bobby Deol, and Anil Kapoor, saw a huge demand in advance booking at this theatre in Delhi. As a result, the movie has already raked in more than Rs 10 lakhs on its opening day from just one screen, even before it hit the marquee.
The amount is already equivalent to the 1-day collections of many big films which have been released earlier this year. Animal releases on the same day as Vicky Kaushal’s film Sam Bahadur. The ticket rates at the same theatre for Sam Bahadur are much lower in comparison to Rs 1700.
The situation isn’t too different in Mumbai either — another stronghold for Kapoor. A LUXE Class ticket at PVR Maison, Jio World drive in BKC has been priced at a whopping Rs 2500. The 42-seat theatre is 70 percent full on the opening day 10 pm show with only 12 seats up for grabs.
News18 spoke to trade analyst Komal Natha about the ticket prices and why the audience is ready to pay such a high price to watch a movie. He reasons, “The teaser followed by the songs and the trailer of Animal has just hit the ball out of the park. People are curious to see the film. Everyone wants to watch a good film and going by the promos Animal looks like one. So, people who have the money will not mind spending a huge amount on this one.”
Natha adds, “It’s not that the ticket prices are so high at all the theaters, many cinema halls have normal ticket rates because of which the advance booking of the film has been extremely good. This is also a departure from what Ranbir has done in his career and director Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Kabir Singh and Arjun Reddy were huge hits, so the audience are keen to watch this film too.”
Another trade exhibitor, on the condition of anonymity, says, “Rs 2500 plus food and beverage along with conveyance is high. But then, the advance booking shows that people who wish to spend so much, have bought the tickets. I can get a premium membership of Netflix for almost six months at the same price and watch so much content. In the end, it’s all about what you choose.”
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