For more than a year, movie theatres in Pakistan have remain closed. Not only new releases but new productions were also bummed as the world tackled the COVID-19 pandemic. The coronavirus pandemic upended the film industry entirely. However, since the coronavirus threat is subsiding gradually, things seem to be coming back to normal. Soon enough we’ll have cinemas reopening, although at reduced capacity for now.
The dynamics for the film and entertainment industry have drastically changed within the past one and a half year since the first case of coronavirus erupted. The audience have had a major shift towards viewing films on online platforms which will definitely make a dent in the revenues once cinemas open in the country.
Will The Audience Go Back To The Theatres After Direct To Home Releases?
A lot of experts are largely of the opinion that people will have become so accustomed to streaming films online, that cinema business will suffer with a big margin. Since the pandemic certainly changed the dynamics for movie watchers, with majority becoming accustomed to streaming films online, it seems the changes are poised to last for a long time. With streaming services becoming majorly popular around the world and foreign distributors deciding to stick to day and date releases, which means a movie releasing in theaters and on streaming platforms at the same time, cinemas in Pakistan would need something extraordinary, perhaps a spectacle, that isn’t easily accessible anywhere else to lure people to the theatres.
If this becomes the norm, it would exclude a large majority of the film-viewing population. And even if we do not have same day and date releases, the shrinking theatrical window, will cut out the potential box office collections, a massive source of revenue generation for the theatres, especially revenues generated from screening Hollywood films. Also, as Indian films are banned from releasing in Pakistan, cinemas owners will perhaps have to rely majorly on Pakistani content, to be able to lure the audience to theatres.
Is Pakistani Content Alone Enough To Contribute A Major Chunk Of Earnings?
It seems that Pakistani filmmakers will have to start paying attention to what the audience has been screaming forever: quality content; something that is powerful enough to grab interest and generate ticket sales. Also, in a post pandemic world, where people are still scared for their lives, the film industry will certainly have to focus on something spectacular, to earn revenue by pulling people to cinemas, where only Pakistani content will be the major attraction. Although Hollywood production giants have allowed a short lived theatrical window to film producers, cinemas in Pakistan, will not be able to regulate the low flow of public that majorly visits these modernized cinemas, without some major crowd pulling, entertaining Urdu content.
What To Expect?
Of course, since film enthusiasts have this certain emotional connection with movies, they will definitely head back to cinemas once it is deemed safe to do so. The wholesome experience of going with friends or family to a big dark room with a big screen and the aroma of crackling popcorns is too powerful to die. However, business is bound to suffer once the initial excitement of cinemas reopening dies down amongst the public.
The bottom-line: Cinemas will have to be much more adventurous in the content they offer, upgrade their offerings, food, beverage and otherwise, and make seating more comfortable. Add to that tickets being affordable in Pakistan as well because otherwise those who can receive their Netflix, Amazon Prime, or HBO Max subscriptions for less than Rs. 1500 for a month, luring them to the theatres will definitely be close to impossible.
