PVR more than halves losses and says cinema hall seats were as full in March as before the pandemic

“By the end of December, we ran into the third wave of the pandemic and cinemas across the country halted the release of films. So, January was a complete washout. However, the reopening was quite quick this time. So, March and April have seen a good bounce back," he said.

He expects the company to do well going ahead. "We have a lot of promising releases lined up for this year, so it is looking like a very promising bounce back for the industry after a lull of two years,” Sood said.

On March 27, PVR and INOX Leisure announced they would merge their might to deliver an “unparalleled” consumer experience with a network of more than 1,500 screens. Their joint statement indicates that the onslaught of over-the-top (OTT) or streaming platforms had a role to play in the consolidation.

The new entity would be named PVR INOX, with the branding of existing screens to continue as PVR and INOX, respectively. New cinemas opened post the merger would be called PVR INOX, the companies said on Sunday in the joint statement.

PVR also recently said it would pilot the concept of cinema pods in the market after a tie-up with OMA Cinema of France.

Oma provides the audience with an intimate cinematic experience with tiered balconies, or pods. PVR's chief growth and strategy officer Pramod Arora had earlier said PVR is keen on building cinemas with more experiential elements, which is not possible in a home environment setting.

Having "an option to have a private movie party with friends and family, OMA pods shall be your own space offering an unmatched bespoke experience of watching a film on a large screen alongside specially-crafted F&B options. Many corporates have been used to their own box at sporting events in stadia, and now they shall have an option to have one in a cinema, too," Arora said.

With inputs from PTI