Do you want to leave movie mid-way? You can claim a partial refund at PVR Inox

Multiplex chain PVR Inox Ltd will now allow people to claim a partial refund if they leave a film mid-way, as part of efforts to widen its audience base and improve movie-going frequency. 

However, there’s a catch.

People will need to pay a 10% premium over the ticket price to avail the FLEXI model.

The multiplex chain will roll out the initiative at 170 screens across Delhi and Gurugram in its pilot phase for select titles and shows. 

One can log in to the PVR app and select titles flashing ‘FLEXI’ to be able to leave the show at any point and claim a partial refund. Go outside, scan the ticket or QR code at a touchpoint to record the time of leaving, and claim a 30-60% refund.

“Professional predicaments and family reasons can often lead to viewers having to leave a film incomplete. This will give them control over their movie-going experience and offer greater flexibility, especially to people who may otherwise not have planned to watch a particular film,” Renaud Palliere, chief executive of The Luxury Collection and Innovation at PVR Inox said in an interview. 

Palliere added that the multiplex chain would track the initiative for three to six months before extending it to other tier-1 catchments and across India thereafter. “It is a way for us to broaden our audience base, especially among a segment that sees cinema-going as a rigid experience requiring a large chunk of time. We see that teenagers and younger demographics demand flexible and customized experiences.”

He added that the initiative is also targeted at families that often see kids get restless during movies or have other commitments. Refunds will take about five days to get credited to the viewer’s payment channel.

To be sure, movie theatres across the country have been struggling with declining footfalls. The Indian movie industry raked in record ticket revenues of ₹12,226 crore in 2023, but the number of people who watched movies in the theatres that year was fewer than before.

The previous box office record was ₹10,948 crore in 2019, according to the report Box Office Report: 2023 from media consulting firm Ormax. Meanwhile, the number of viewers fell from 1.03 billion in 2019 to 943 million in 2023, though the latter was about 6% higher than in 2022.

Experts say a chunky rise in ticket prices has helped bridge the movie industry’s ‘footfall’ gap. According to the Ormax report, average ticket prices (ATP) grew by 9% in 2023 over 2022 and are now 22% higher than 2019 levels.

They point out that footfall has fallen 10-20% across multiplex chains and single-screen cinemas, adding that the rise in ATP, estimated to be up to 35% in the case of some multiplex chains, has alienated a section of the audience that sees home viewing on OTT channels such as Netflix or Prime Video as a cheaper, more convenient option.

Dwindling footfalls, in part due to steep ticket prices, have prompted theatre chains to announce a series of initiatives like Cinema Day-like occasions where tickets are priced as low as ₹99. While initiatives like this may have spurred a jump in footfalls on those special days, such one-off occasions may not be enough for theatre chains to sustain demand, according to experts.