New Delhi, Feb 7 (.) India has been the world’s largest producer of films for several years, yet despite being the second-oldest film industry globally, the country still lags far behind China and the USA in terms of the number of cinema screens.
While Bollywood dominates the industry, the limited number of screens restricts the reach of films across the nation.
In an exclusive interview with Variety India, Aamir Khan highlighted the urgent need to expand India’s exhibition infrastructure.
“India’s a huge country; it’s like a continent, it’s massive and each state has its own language, its own culture, its own films. So, I really feel that in a country like India, we need many more cinema halls. More outlets, so that we can reach a lot more people. If you want to compete with China, for example, they have, I think, one lakh screens,” Khan explained.
He pointed out the stark contrast between India and China, where big films rake in staggering revenues. “We are at 9,000 screens. What is the comparison? We are one-tenth their size in outlets. Which is why one big film when in China does huge business; it does two billion US dollars. Just in China, not in the rest of the world. Just in China, big films do that kind of business. The big films over there do business worth billions of dollars. I am talking of US dollars. So, when we increase our number of screens, you’ll see the business expand at the grassroots level. The base of your pyramid will go wide.”
Khan also cited Bollywood’s recent record-breaker, Dhurandhar, to emphasize his point. “Let’s take the example of Dhurandhar, which has done around Rs 1,000 crore. Now, imagine if it had been released in not 5,000 screens but in 15,000 screens. Massive! So, this is what I’m trying to say. The real change will come when the number of screens goes up. Because there are so many districts in India right now that don’t have a single screen,” he said.
Khan’s observations underline the potential for massive growth in India’s film industry if more cinema halls are established, expanding access to films for audiences nationwide, according to Variety India.
. MI .