NEW DELHI : India, which is already one of the most under-screened movie markets in the world, is estimated to have lost around 10-12% of its cinema screens over these four-and-a-half months of covid-19 shutdown.
If it continues much longer, the figure could go up to 15-20%, trade experts say. India had 6,327 single screens and 3,200 multiplexes as of 2019 according to the Ficci-EY media and entertainment industry report 2020.
Clearly, that figure will further shrink.“The film exhibition sector is in a mess thanks to the combination of an indefinite delay in making films in addition to the absence of clarity on a reopening date for theatres," said film trade and exhibition expert Girish Johar.