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Tag: Carnival Cinemas

  • Cinema exhibition chain Carnival Cinemas in talks to raise equity

    Cinema exhibition chain Carnival Cinemas in talks to raise equity

    Mumbai: Mumbai-based cinema exhibition chain Carnival Cinemas is in the initial stages of raising equity of Rs 400 crore, as per a report by Hindi Businessline. Carnival Cinemas is the second-largest theatre chain after PVR-Inox with 450 screens present nation-wide.

    The cinema chain is in talks with its sole lender Yes Bank as well as public and private equity funds to raise money to expand to another 118 screens. The entity is expected to make a formal announcement of the fund raise in 60-90 days.

    The company owned by Dr. Shrikant Bhasi, always had plans for further expansion, especially after the record revenues of 2020. They have waited for the resolution of the pandemic before introducing private equity investors.

    According to a source, “To raise funds, Carnival Cinemas worked with Yes Bank, with whom they have a long-standing relationship, whereby the bank has always supported and believed in the business. Yes Bank has started its process to take equity and enable Carnival Cinemas to move towards its vision of 1,000 screens.”

    An official from Carnival Cinemas who refused to be named stated, “We are the market leaders in tier III and tier IV markets and are the only mass cinema chain in India whose vision is to open and operate a large number of screens. This debt restructuring would close within 60-90 days.”

  • PVR-Inox deal: Consolidation to boost in-cinema advertising; steer advertiser segmentation for industry

    PVR-Inox deal: Consolidation to boost in-cinema advertising; steer advertiser segmentation for industry

    Mumbai: The all-stock merger between two of the country’s largest multiplex chains PVR and Inox Leisure announced earlier this week has been reckoned as positive for the industry on all counts. Led by PVR’s Ajay Bijli as MD, the combined entity PVR-Inox will have an invincible size advantage with its 1546 screens across 341 in 109 Indian cities, against Carnival and Cinepolis’ nearly 400 screens.

    Meanwhile, Kanakia Group-owned Cineline India has announced to re-enter the business after a decade in Q1FY23 with a total of 75 screens, of which 27 were acquired in February.

    Valued at 30-45 per cent higher than standalone entities Inox (~Rs 64 billion) and PVR (~Rs 110 billion), PVR-Inox will have a screen share of over 50 per cent within India multiplexes and 18 per cent within overall screens. Its combined box office share for Hindi and English content, which has a 65 per cent share in the overall box office, will be around 42 per cent, as per Elara Securities.

    Gaining from Premiumisation

    Weakening dynamics for the unorganised and single-screen film exhibition players, even before the pandemic hit, presented a tremendous opportunity for the organised ones to increase their foothold in the segment.

    Consolidation in the film exhibition sector started around 2014-15 with the buyout of Satyam Cineplex by Inox for Rs 240 crore, and Carnival’s mop-up of HDIL’s Broadway Cinemas for Rs 110 crore. In December 2014, Reliance Capital sold its multiplex business of Reliance MediaWorks (RMW) operating under the brand name ‘Big Cinemas’ to Carnival Cinemas for Rs 700 crore. The following year Mexican multiplex chain Cinepolis acquired Essel Group’s Fun Cinemas and PVR bought out DLF’s DT Cinemas for Rs 500 crore.

    Cineline India, which was present in the trade as Cinemax since 1997, sold its multiplex business along with Cinemax brand to PVR for Rs 395 crore under a non-compete clause in 2012. In light of the deal’s expiration on 31 March, the company is set to re-enter the business in the first quarter of FY’23.

    From 9,600 screens in 2009, single cinema screens were reduced to just over 6,300 by 2019 in India. This decline is reflected in the country’s screen density which stood at 74 in 2019 (Statista). At an estimated overall screen count of 9,423 (FICCI-EY, March 2022), India is a largely underscreened country as compared to China which has around 70000 screens for comparable population size. Its ATP (Average Ticket Price) and SPH (Spends Per Head) are also among the lowest. Bridging the demand-supply gap in the Indian exhibition industry is expected to increase the box office collections by more than three times, as per Delloite’s 2018 report on screen density.

    Even as the economies of scale usher in revenue and cost benefits, rapid premiumisation in cinematic and customer experience led by technologies like 3D, 4DX, Imax, F&B, and other luxury offerings, as well as Covid-mandated hygiene standards, will drive ATP and SPH on one hand, and create more and better opportunities for advertisers on the other, thereby boosting advertising revenues for the new entity, and consequently for the industry at large.

    The merger will help in getting higher SPH (Rs 99 for PVR vs Rs 80 for Inox in FY20) on existing Inox screens. In FY ’20, Inox’s footfall of 6.6 crore gave additional F&B revenue of ~Rs 125 crore and net cost revenue of more than Rs 90 crore. The synergies may also result in substantial savings on manpower costs. On combined manpower costs of over Rs 600 crore, even a 20 per cent saving will result in savings of Rs 120 crore for the combined entity. Overall, the merger has the potential to add over Rs 300 crore to the bottom line of the combined entity, digital cinema distribution network and in-cinema advertising platform, UFO Moviez tells IndianTelevision.com.

    Boost to in-cinema advertising

    Last October as theatres began to reopen after 18 months of strict and partial lockdowns, in-cinema advertising which contributes 10-12 per cent to the overall revenue pie for cinemas, witnessed a slump of 25-30 per cent in rates. Studying the trend, Inox Leisure chief sales and revenue officer Anand Vishal had previously told IndianTelevision.com that “cinema is not going to be an easy sell” for quite some time hereafter.

    Cinema is not going to be an easy sell: Inox’s Anand Vishal

    This merger is expected to turn the tables in favour of the exhibitors sooner than previously estimated. According to UFO Moviez “the consolidation will be positive for overall in-cinema advertising in the country. In FY ’20, PVR was earning ad revenue of ~Rs 45 lacs per screen whereas Inox was at ~Rs 28.5 lakh, a difference of nearly Rs 17 lakh per screen. The combined entity should be able to get the same revenue as PVR for all screens. Thus, on around 650 screens of Inox, differential ad revenue of Rs 17 lakh per screen will translate into additional ad revenue of ~Rs 110 crore for the combined entity.”

    The segmentation of advertisers between big and smaller chains/single screens, which already existed by virtue of the players having differentiated TGs, will become more pronounced going forward.

    “PVR and Inox together have screens in around 110 cities whereas UFO has ad rights of over 3500 screens (smaller chains/single screens) spread across close to 1400 cities and towns. An advertiser/agency will now be required to deal with only two entities to advertise on a pan India network spread over 5000 screens. This will help in minimising admin work, which in turn will lead to faster closure of deals,” UFO Moviez observes.

    In spite of being among the hardest hit, the cinema exhibition industry is staging a phenomenal recovery with the success of films like “The Kashmir Files,” “RRR” and “Gangubai Kathiawadi.”

    dentsu Creative India CEO Amit Wadhwa points out that while “brands may have been circumspect regarding the above investments, in-cinema advertising will pick up henceforth, especially with the two big names coming together to form a much stronger brand. It has the possibility of creating better opportunities for brands to advertise and hence, in the bargain, the likelihood of charging a premium.”

    On the contrary

    Even though the “onslaught of OTT” has been ostensibly stated as the reason, the PVR-Inox merger was always on the cards. The surge in OTT consumption as a result of the pandemic may have only expedited it. As film producer Naveen Chandra opines, “We are in the initial stages of OTT growth in India so any responsive strategies based on the binging nature of consumers may be premature.”

    Commenting on its likely impact on distribution, he adds, “Any business that scales up to a near majority market share will have an advantage of charging a pricing premium for its products. The combined entity will hold nearly 60 per cent of the multiplex screens. That’s a great advantage whichever way you look at it. The programming muscle it provides is phenomenal as the entity negotiates its exhibition deals or exclusive release windows with platforms or theatrical shares with producers.”

    Irrespective of the assertions and speculations, OTT players have considered Cinemas an enabler rather than a competitor, even in the context of ‘windowing’ which became a ‘hot potato’ for the industry and media in the last couple of years.

    OTTs to benefit from the availability of price discovery platform as cinemas reopen

    Shemaroo Entertainment COO Kranti Gada asserts that “right from providing a barometer to assess a film’s worth, to unclogging the pandemic-paused film pipeline, and saving marketing costs for streaming platforms, the growth of cinemas will only be beneficial for OTT platforms.” Shemaroo Entertainment owns the video-on-demand service ShemarooMe.

    While OTTs are being projected as the eventual replacement of single screens, affordable cinema is here to stay, players and observers agree. The Southern anomaly where PVR and Inox hold six and three per cent share respectively stands testimony to it.  

  • Carnival Cinemas and MovieTime form strategic alliance

    Carnival Cinemas and MovieTime form strategic alliance

    Mumbai: Multiplex chain Carnival Cinemas on Monday announced a strategic partnership with MovieTime Cinemas.

    As part of this alliance, Carnival will offer business management services to MovieTime for operating their existing portfolio of 65 screens and also other upcoming screens as and when they start running.

    Carnival will bring in its expertise to tap the synergies between both the exhibitor brands for strengthening their market standing in the cinema exhibition space.

    Carnival Cinemas is accelerating towards its ‘Vision 1,000 screens’ in the next two years and this scaling up will further help it to carve a win-win for all partners involved, said the statement.

    Carnival Cinemas is currently present in 120 cities at 162 locations with 450+ screens. With this tie-up, Carnival will now be managing the operations of about 525+ screens across India, it added.

    “We are very happy to join hands with MovieTime and explore various ways of value addition for both the entities. We are also looking at synergy in other fields where we both can operate in spaces such as food business,” said Chairman Carnival Group, chairman, Shrikant Bhasi.

    “We are pretty confident that, this association will help both of us enhance each other’s operational efficiencies,” MovieTime Cinemas, chairman, Anil Kapoor.

    MovieTime Cinemas presently operates in Maharashtra, New Delhi, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, J&K, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Punjab, and Telangana under the owned and leased models.

  • We can add 150 odd screens in the next 3 years: Carnival Cinemas CEO Mohan Umrotkar

    We can add 150 odd screens in the next 3 years: Carnival Cinemas CEO Mohan Umrotkar

    MUMBAI: Multiplexes are driving the growth of screen counts in India and considerably the major chains are now not limiting their objective to expansion but also focusing on premium experience. National multiplex chain Carnival Cinemas, one of the top four players in the segment, has been expanding rapidly in the last couple of years. After achieving a good growth in screen counts on the back of multiple acquisitions, it is now prioritising an upgraded cinematic experience.

    Recently, Carnival Cinemas struck a deal with TSR Films to convert all its existing and new screens into Laser in the next five years. Talking to Indiantelevision.com, Carnivals Cinema CEO Mohan Umrotkar spoke on the deal along with its marketing strategy, expansion plan, etc.

    Edited excerpts from the interview:

    What is the nature and aim of the partnership?

    TSR is the exclusive Christie RGB laser projectors provider in India. We have struck a deal with the TSR where they will supply 350 projectors over the next three years. It's a partnership of a supply agreement under which rate contract has been fixed, the quantity has been fixed and of course, this is again extendable for the quantity of future independent requirements. As of now considering our existence scheme and the plan that we have for the expansion, we expect to have 600-odd projectors which we can buy out over the next five years.

    Are you looking at more changes in terms of new technology?

    In terms of the infrastructure, we have already made major changes. Customers were able to see the changes when entering the cinema on the basis of the first interactions at lobby, auditorium, and toilet. This is nothing but the aesthetical changes; the infrastructure changes. So the next question was where we are engaging with the customer for the maximum period of time. Anybody who's visiting the cinema, I think he's more interested in the sound and the picture. And that's the heart of this. If you don't get a proper sound, picture quality, ideal experience is incomplete despite having a good lobby, premium Italian marble and chandelier. But if your projection system is not good, your sound is not good, experience is not good. Hence we thought of the latest technology. Nobody has even thought about using RGB Laser projectors in the multiplex chains, we are the first one to implement that. Apart from that I don't think so much technical changes are required now and all the other changes maybe with ticketing systems which are already there. So those are the core to the business is a projection system or a sound system.

    How much money have you put in for the new deal?

    The total investment for the deal in the next three years will be closer to around Rs 200 crore. Again, go up to at least 70 per cent to 80 per cent. Because then we are again talking about adding another 250 projectors, proportionate monies. So it will be roughly in the range of Rs 350 crore.

    Could you talk about your expansion plan in 2020?

    So if you see the past, we have also added close to around 70 to 80 screens in the last two years. Considering the market scenario, we will probably not add that more screens, but we can roughly add around 50 odd screens each year. And this is organic growth. Obviously, there is a plan for inorganic growth but that all depends upon what kind of opportunity is available, and what kind of deal is available. But organically we can easily add 150 odd screens in the next three years.

    What about your expansion plan beyond big cities?

    There’s still scope to grow in tier one, tier two obviously. To go beyond that, we have a different model which is called a Jalsa which is you know the low-cost cinema model which we are already doing. And in this entire expansion, I am not counting those screens because those are the new markets in which we also want to explore. So that's additional numbers which we're talking about.

    What will be your marketing strategy in near future?

    In the last one year, we have decided to spend money wisely. We have decided to advertise in a more sensible manner rather than just deciding to put so much of money into the news or so much of money on television. What we are promoting is the cinema because eventually the movie has been promoted by the producer and we are not the content owner. So wherever there is a new cinema name or wherever there is a renovation happening, we are just focusing on the property, we are showing this is a unique property. Marketing strategy is also depending on what is a cheap yet effective medium and that can be OOH or television. The overall marketing budget is around 1 per cent of the top line. We try to do more direct marketing, or we try to take the help of the social media, Facebook, twitter, Instagram, and e-mailers to our 50 million patrons annually. Because what we see is direct marketing, w the more effective way.

    How do you see the scope of growth for multiplexes in India?

    In India we are still around 9000-odd screens whereas almost 130 crore population. 2000 movies are being produced every year and the country is also vast. I am not saying that if China or the US have 50,000 screens, we should also have in the same range. To start with as a bare minimum, we should have anything between 25-30,000.

  • Tissot rolls-out innovative cinema campaign in collaboration with Khushi Advertising

    Tissot rolls-out innovative cinema campaign in collaboration with Khushi Advertising

    MUMBAI: Tissot, world leader in the Swiss traditional watch industry has rolled-out an innovative on-screen advertising campaign in multiplexes. For this, ambient media agency, Khushi Advertising Ideas Pvt Ltd has helmed a unique multiplex advertising campaign to engage with audience in an interesting manner.

    The currently on-going 6-week campaign includes a 10-second ad film and is being carried out in 360 INOX screens pan India and 30 screens of Carnival Cinemas in Kerala and Goa. The ad film shows the newly launched Tissot Seastar Chronograph watch along with a countdown timer leading to the commencement of the national anthem. The last frame of the ad urges the audience to “please stand up for the national anthem’.

    Tissot’s objective was not to showcase just another product ad film but also to keep the essence of being one of the most accurate timekeepers in focus. Khushi Advertising understood this need and came up with this brilliant idea to make an impact. An ad just before the national anthem is hard to miss but the concept of using a timer leading to the national anthem showcases remarkable social cognizance. This way Tissot got the position, timing and overall concept of the ad perfect.

    Opining on the ideation behind the campaign, Khushi Advertising CEO Vishnu Telang said, “As cinema advertising specialists, it is our responsibility to delight our clients. The countdown timer was included to build anticipation in the audience’s minds. When clients like Tissot appreciate our work, it fires up our creativity. Khushi is proud to be recognised as the fastest-growing ambient media agency in India, providing novel ambient advertising solutions across various avenues.”

    INOX chief sales officer Anand Vishal agreed to this while adding, “Everywhere you go, you are hammered by advertisements. In such an environment, your best bet is to be innovative so that the viewers are actually waiting for the story to unfold. If you cannot capture the audience in the first 5 seconds of the advertisement, you’ve already lost their attention. When Tissot added a countdown timer, it kept the audience hooked to their seats wondering what happens once the timer reaches zero. Such are the advertisements that speak directly to their audience.”

  • Carnival Cinemas, ahead of ‘Thackeray’ release introduces Shiv Vada pav on its FNB (Food and Beverages) list across India

    Carnival Cinemas, ahead of ‘Thackeray’ release introduces Shiv Vada pav on its FNB (Food and Beverages) list across India

    MUMBAI: Carnival Cinemas, the multiplex chain in India is spicing up with the most popular snack chain, Shiv Vada Pav. The multiplex chain has recently integrated the snack into its FNB (Food and Beverages) list making it consumption-available across 72 properties in India.

    Launched by Balasaheb Thackeray and the patrons of Shiv Sena Party, Shiv vada pav was launched in 2009 for generating employment for Maharashtrian youth. The trailer of the much-awaited biopic on Balasaheb Thackeray has already created storm across verticals, Carnival Cinemas, on the other hand, takes pride to introduce Shiv Vada pav into its business plan.

    ‘Thackeray’ narrates the life journey of the Late Balasaheb Thackery who like a true leader fought for equality for his fellow Maharashtrians. He initiated Shiv Vada pav teaching the unemployed youth how to make the vada pavs and earn living for themselves. Carnival Cinemas now have these vada pavs available at its FNB (Food and Beverages) counters and is thrilled by the association with the brand ‘Thackeray’.

    Produced by Viacom18 Motion Pictures, Dr. Shrikant Bhasi, Mrs. Varsha Sanjay Raut, Ms. Purvashi Sanjay Raut & Ms. Vidhita Sanjay Raut, the movie is slated to release on January 25th, 2019 in Marathi & Hindi

  • Zicom Electronic Security Systems partners INOX, Carnival Cinemas for Street Smart

    Zicom Electronic Security Systems partners INOX, Carnival Cinemas for Street Smart

    MUMBAI: One of India’s leading electronic security companies  Zicom Electronic Security Systems Ltd had recently partnered with INOX and Carnival Cinemas across metro cities – New Delhi, Mumbai, Gandhinagar, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Bangalore, Kalyan, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Gaziabad and Noida for a brand engagement activity for its recently launched vehicle passenger safety solution, Street Smart.

    Street Smart, through the power of artificial intelligence and bot technology, caters to the safety concerns of the discerning road traveller.

    Speaking about this activity, Zicom Electronic Security Systems Ltd manager marketing Forum Shah said, “Street travel has become the norm of the day today. Yet while most of us travel by road for work or leisure, not many of us are prepared for unfortunate situations that could arise. At Zicom Electronic Systems we believe that “Prevention is best”

    “Since we launched Street Smart, early this year, we have been confident about the value in terms of safety & security that our product will be able to offer travelers on the road. We are hopeful that our recent on-ground activation will help us to develop a better connect with our audience,” he added.

    At the movie screening, before the film begins and after the lights go out, there will be an audio announcement stating that a black sedan has been wrongly parked. The act will seem genuine to get the attention of the audience. This will be followed by the commentator highlighting how Street Smart can help a consumer against such inconvenient events.

  • Seenu Kurien joins Carnival Cinemas as VP sales and marketing

    Seenu Kurien joins Carnival Cinemas as VP sales and marketing

    MUMBAI: Carnival Cinemas, a motion picture exhibitor, today announced the appointment of Seenu Kurien as VP- sales and marketing. At Carnival Cinemas, Kurien will be heading sales and marketing functions and will be responsible for ad sales – off screen and onscreen, marketing, branding, alliances and PR.

    Commenting on her new innings with Carnival Cinemas, Kurien said, “I have long admired Carnival Cinemas for its commitment to its vision and excited to be a part of making this vision a reality. I am delighted and look forward to working with the teams to further the brand.”

    Kurien has over 13 years of work experience in sales, strategy, branding and operations. She has worked across industries including media and construction in various functional roles in emerging (India) and developed markets (USA). Before joining Carnival, she was national head – exhibitions with Bennett Coleman (The Times of India) and was responsible for creating joint exhibition IPs, and driving ad revenues via exhibitions to all print products across all markets nationally & internationally.

    Prior to becoming national head for exhibitions, she was a regional sales head and was responsible for advertising space sales, developing partnerships, agency relations, providing integrated marketing solutions and identifying new business opportunities. She also had stints in corporate strategy and branding.

    Speaking on the appointment, Carnival Group founder and chairman Shrikant Bhasi said, “We are incredibly pleased to welcome Seenu to our Carnival family and executive leadership team.The entertainment business is seeing huge growth and we are confident that Seenu’s experience will help the company build the next phase of growth. Her extensive experience in media will be extremely useful as the group moves towards leadership position in the film exhibition sector.”

    She has also spent a considerable amount of time working in the real estate and construction sector in the US handling project management, contract management & operations.

  • Carnival Cinemas appoints Mohan Umrotkar as CEO

    Carnival Cinemas appoints Mohan Umrotkar as CEO

    MUMBAI: Carnival Cinemas, spearheaded by Dr. Shrikant Bhasi, has appointed Mohan Umrotkar as its chief executive officer (CEO). He takes over from P. V. Sunil who has been elevated as the managing director (MD).

    Umrotkar’s mandate will be to oversee the completion of its corporate vision of 1,000 screens and also ensuring that each business division of the company achieve their business goal.

    Umrotkar, a chartered accountant, had served as the chief financial officer of Reliance MediaWorks, a part of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, where he was involved in the exhibition business (subsequently acquired by Carnival) on cost rationalisation and growth efforts which led to major operational and financial improvements in business.

    Umrotkar has also had a stint with Deloitte in the assurance practice, working on some of India’s biggest business houses.

    Having a foundation of over 18 years in operational finance, contract negotiations, mergers and acquisitions, treasury, fund raising initiatives, financial planning, taxation, risk mitigation and designing turnaround strategies, Umrotkar’s financial and business acumen channels the business focus, on the implementation of a dynamic business model to maximize ROI and profitability.

    Bhasi said, “Mohan (Umrotkar) is an accomplished thought leader and is known to leverage his entrepreneurial acumen to overcome complex business challenges and deliver high impact thus translating corporate vision with ease.”

    Umrotkar, a foodie, is passionate about playing and watching cricket and loves travelling and watching movies.

  • Hindware & TicketNew.com associate with SRK’s co & movie

    MUMBAI: Two brands — Hindware & TicketNew.com — have associated with Shah Rukh Khan’s company Red Chillies and his upcoming movie ‘Jab Harry met Sejal’.

    India’s online movie ticketing site Ticketnew.com announced that the company has signed-up with Bollywood’s Red Chillies Entertainment as associate sponsor for its upcoming movies starting from Jab Harry Met Sejal, which opens nationwide on 4 August. Hindware recently launched a co-branded TVC in association with brand ambassador SRK’s anticipated movie.

    Ticketnew.com meantime is also offering a flat Rs. 100 discount on the purchase of every ticket for the current Jab Harry Met Sejal on its platform through website or mobile. Ticketnew.com has also partnered with PVR, Cinepolis, Inox, Carnival Cinemas, among others, offering consumers the best state-of-the-art theatre facilities.

    TicketNew founder CEO Ramkumar Nammalvar said: “Our platform is set to offer millions of SRK fans advance tickets for Jab Harry Met Sejal.”

    The TVC will be aired at 350 cinema halls across 203 cities in India for a duration of three weeks and will be also be available online on YouTube for more than 30 days. Conceptualised with Red Chillies Entertainment, the promotional TVC brings forth common attributes between brands Hindware and Shah Rukh Khan – as both are experts in their respective fields.

    The TVC is a seamless amalgamation of memorable scenes from the movie where Khan is seen as an expert guide and explains Hindware’s expertise in building dream bathrooms. 

    HSIL Limited president – building products division Manish Bhatia said, “Our brand ambassador Khan’s movie had the right attributes of being an expert companion in one’s journey to achieve something of their dreams, which Hindware truly believes in and is also our new brand positioning.”