Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to the PVR INOX Q2 FY 2026 conference call. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode, and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during this conference, please signal an operator by pressing star and then zero on your touch-tone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Abhishek Banerjee from ICICI Securities. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Thank you, Dawin. Good afternoon, everyone. On behalf of ICICI Securities, we welcome you to PVR INOX, Q2 and H1 FY 2026 post-results earnings call. The call will start with brief management remarks on the earnings performance, followed by an interactive Q&A session. PVR INOX management will be represented by Mr. Ajay Bijli, Managing Director; Mr. Sanjeev Kumar, Executive Director; Mr. Gaurav Sharma, Chief Financial Officer; and other senior management personnel. Over to Mr. Ajay Bijli now for his opening comments. Over to you, sir.
Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. I'd like to welcome you all to discuss the unaudited results for the quarter and the half-year ending September 30th, 2025. We've uploaded the earnings presentation and the results on our company's and the stock exchanges' websites earlier today, and I hope you've had a chance to review them. As we close the first half of the current fiscal, I'm pleased to share that the momentum built on Q1 has only accelerated in Q2, making H1 one of the most remarkable periods in recent times with robust contributions from Hindi, Hollywood, and regional films. What is especially encouraging is that the performance this year is increasingly looking structural, with total India box office growing by 15% year on year in H1, driven by a steady and diverse flow of films across languages and scales rather than one or two mega blockbusters.
In Q2 alone, 12 films crossed the INR 100 crore mark, and 22 films did so in H1, the highest post-COVID. Underscoring the depth and durability of the box office performance. Hindi films have seen a remarkable turnaround this year, powered by a steady release calendar and strong content. Unlike last year, when gaps in releases held back momentum, a regular supply of films has kept audiences engaged and theaters buzzing. Blockbusters like 'Saiyaara', which grossed nearly INR 400 crore, and 'Mahavatar Narsimha', with collections of around INR 300 crore, highlight how quality content, rather than just star power, is driving demand. At the same time, we also saw movies high on star power, such as 'War 2' and 'Jolly LLB 3', perform strongly during the quarter. This balance between content-driven successes and star-led hits signals a very encouraging sign for the long-term growth of the industry.
Hollywood had a particularly strong quarter. Industry collections grossed INR 500 crore, driven by big franchise titles such as 'Jurassic World', 'The Conjuring', 'Superman', 'Demon Slayer', and 'The Fantastic Four', with F1 carrying its momentum into Q2. This underscores the growing appetite for global content among Indian audiences, especially in premium formats. The balance of content and star power was also evident in the regional box office this quarter. Kannada box office grew by over 100% year on year, powered by the phenomenal success of 'Su from So', while Malayalam box office expanded by 50% on the back of 'Lokah Chapter 1 ', which has now become the highest-grossing Malayalam film ever, with industry collections crossing INR 180 crore.
At the same time, movies high on star power, like 'Coolie' in Tamil, 'They Call Him OG' , and 'Mirai' in Telugu, also resonated strongly with the audiences, reinforcing the strength and diversity of regional content. During the quarter, we welcomed 44.5 million guests to our cinemas, the highest in the last eight quarters, representing a growth of 15% year on year and nearly 31% sequentially. Occupancies improved to about 28.7% compared to 25.7% in Q2 last year, reflecting both the strength of content and the impact of the various footfall-driving initiatives we've been implementing. ATP grew by 2% year on year to INR 262, while F&B SPH for the quarter was at INR 134. Advertising revenue maintained strong momentum, with the highest second-quarter post-pandemic income of INR 126 crore, up about 16% year on year.
On the financial front, the company delivered the highest quarterly revenue EBITDA, and PAC in the last two years. Adjusted for NDS 116, total revenue for the quarter was INR 1,843 crore, EBITDA was INR 327 crore, and PAC was INR 127 crore, as compared to revenue of INR 1,642 crore, EBITDA of INR 207 crore, and PAC of INR 22 crore in the same period last year. Following the government's recent GST rate reduction from 12% to 5% on tickets priced at INR 100 or below, we have fully passed on the benefit to our customers. This has enhanced affordability and strengthened consumer trust. For instance, our popular blockbuster Tuesday's offer, earlier priced at INR 99, is now available at INR 92, fully reflecting the GST relief in the final price. During the quarter, we added 22 new screens while rationalizing eight.
Staying true to our capital light and scalable growth strategy, we now have 132 screens signed under the capital light model, with 44 screens under FOCO and 88 under the Asset Light model. We have continued to maintain our focus on financial discipline and deleveraging. As of September 2025, our net debt stood at INR 619 crore, the lowest level since the merger, down INR 333 crore since March 2025, and INR 812 crore or 57% from merger levels. This has been driven by strong operating cash flows and a calibrated capital allocation approach. The outlook for the upcoming quarters is very encouraging, supported by a strong and diverse multi-language release slate, with marquee titles such as 'Thama', '120 Bahadur', 'Tere Ishk Mein', 'Dhurandhar', 'Avatar: Fire and Ash', 'Raja Saab', 'Alpha', 'Border 2', 'Mardaani 3', 'Love and War', and 'Toxic' on the horizon.
We are well positioned to drive robust audience traction and sustain footfalls. Our current screen portfolio stands at 1,761 screens across 354 cinemas in 111 cities in India and Sri Lanka. Thank you once again for joining us today, and I now open the floor for any questions you may have.
Thank you very much. We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their touch-tone telephone. If you wish to withdraw yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to please use handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. Our first question comes from the line of Abneesh Roy from Nuvama. Please go ahead.
Yeah, thanks and congrats on the good recovery, especially Hindi movies. My first question is on the Dine-In cinema, which you have started in Bangalore. One, is this a pilot project? Globally, does this kind of a format work in the emerging markets? What exactly are you fulfilling in terms of customer need here? The same mall will have those high-end restaurant options, and in your current cinema also, consumer does have enough F&B options. Plus, if you see the listed restaurant players, except maybe the largest pizza player, none of the other listed restaurant players, those may be QSR, so it's a bit different. Those have not really become very successful even in Q2. If you see the results, it has come out even today. What is the plan here?
Is this a scalable model or more of a marketing statement from you in such a key market like Bangalore? That is the first question.
This is the first question, right?
Okay, let me tell you.
Yeah.
Shall we answer it one by one?
Okay. Pramod, you want to answer it?
No, you go ahead if you're there.
No, go ahead. You go ahead and I'll fill in the blanks.
Yes, you're absolutely right. It's a POC that we have worked around. As soon as it basically gets its due success, we scale it up across the country. The objective out here is that you are watching a film alongside. You have the gourmet food options coming across to you or being serviced to you. Since this is an LED screen, you can totally look through the food while you're eating, because people eat with their eyes mostly when you're eating gourmet foods, that's what it's called. You know, Dine-In option gives you an opportunity to eat your gourmet foods alongside the film that you're watching, which is not available in a regular cinema. This is one of its kind and the first one, perhaps, in the country. I don't think anyone else has done a concept like this.
This sort of a concept, a little similar to this, was done by CJ Group out of South Korea, which was an extremely successful concept, or which is an extremely successful concept. This one is still much better than what CJ has done. We do believe that in the times to come, this is going to catch traction, and we shall be able to scale it up across other parts of the country also as well.
Abneesh, just to add to what Pramod is saying, basically, cinema is all about experience. Having this circuit of close to 1,800 screens, we obviously have to be always innovative and experimental. 2004 is when we started our first Gold Class. It's been over 10 years since Director's Cut. Every format has to evolve. It's a pilot, but it's already very successful. It is not a pivot for the company to get into, you know, compare ourselves to some F&B or QSRs that you mentioned. It is just that movies and food coming together has been our mainstay right from the beginning, and we'll keep experimenting with formats. With the grace of God, fortunately, this experiment has worked, and we will be rolling it out in various places. This is for the discerning audience.
It is such a disparate market in India, and PVR INOX has always been committed to coming out with a solution for every demographic. This is not for everybody. It is for a certain demographic who is wanting to combine the two experiences of F&B and watching a movie on the big screen. We're going to continue to do that, being an innovative company.
Sure, that's quite insightful. My second question is on your statement wherein you said that very good recovery in the Hindi movies, which I think is very important for the health of the industry. Here I wanted to understand the issues for the Hindi movie industry have been more the calendarization. We had long gaps where no movies were releasing, and suddenly they were again competing on the same weekend also. That was one. The second one was definitely quality, VFX, and original storylines, and compelling screenplay, etc. On these two aspects, have the core issues been addressed? Some of these are, frankly, very difficult to monitor or very difficult to predict also. If you could comment, what exactly is giving you the confidence on this recovery?
No, what is giving me confidence is that two things. One is that, you know, this quarter is special because, you know, the movies were not necessarily barring, let's say, 'War 2' or 'Coolie'. They were not blockbusters as such to begin with. That is what I like about the Indian market as opposed to any other market. It's a very volume-driven market. A lot of supply comes, and not always, you know, you can predict, you know, that what movie is going to do well and what is not going to do well. Therefore, in this volume that comes along, you get these sleeper hits. You get these surprises, which make up for if there's a blockbuster that doesn't do well. This quarter, if you look at it, you know, 'Saiyaara' is like INR 400 crore almost. Nobody expected it to be doing so well.
'Mahavatar Narsimha', nobody thought it'll end up doing so well. 'Sitaare Zameen Par ', had Khan, Aamir Khan, but yet it was not positioned as a blockbuster, still made over INR 200 crore. Of course, the movies like even 'Coolie' and 'War 2' have all done, you know, close to some INR 330 crore. The other one has done INR 283 crore. You had your 'Kesari 2', 'Raid 2', lots of them, 'Jolly LLB 3', 'Housef ull.' I think what has given us, what is giving me confidence, us confidence, is the fact that people are coming out. You know, that fatigue factor of staying at home has creeped in, and they want to get out. That, and movies, if they keep coming continuously, which they are coming continuously, because even the producers have now realized that they can make a movie even for a smaller budget.
If the script is the hero, if they can make a movie which connects with the audiences, people will come. Both the engines, which have always made us, made our business robust, which is the content guys as well as the consumers, both are clicking and coming to the cinemas. That consistency of films, as I said in my opening remarks, 22 films this year since the first half, in the first half, have crossed INR 100 crore, and not a single movie has done more than INR 500 crore, as opposed to previously where you had these peaks and troughs. You know, you had this big movie like a 'Jawan' or a 'Stree 2' or a 'Pathaan' or something like that would come very high, KGF and all that, and suddenly they'll be low. Here is the consistency of films, which is quite exciting.
Not only Hindi films, but which again, of course, contribute. PVR still has 46% of its revenues have come from Hindi, but the overall box office contribution of Hindi film is even going to be much larger. Comment can tell you the number. Even Hollywood, after its strike, has bounced back with F1, you know, 'Mission Impossible', 'Jurassic World', and all that. Even South continues to come out with movies which are very consistent.
Sure. Last quick question. In terms of Q2 advertising, what are the top five sectors? Now with the GST consumption boost of INR 48,000 crore, we have seen that two-wheelers and four-wheelers have seen a very good recovery. Even FMCG companies yesterday in the results also came. That was not a GST impact. Generally, FMCG, auto, and many other sectors, were good, there is going to be a consumption boost Q3 onwards. Are you well-placed from an advertising boost? In your top five sectors, are these sectors seeing some kind of an improvement in Q3? If you could tell us. In Q2, what were the top five sectors from an advertising perspective?
Can I request?
[crosstalk] Sure.
The top five sectors were FMCG, banking, textile, e-commerce, and jeweler. Our automobile was ranked sixth. For us, automobile and retail were sixth and seventh. The big sectors were FMCG, banking, textile, e-commerce, jeweler, automobile, and retail in that order.
Okay. Thanks. That's all from my side. Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Kavish Parekh from B&K Securities. Please go ahead.
Hi, team. Thanks for the opportunity and congratulations on a solid set of numbers. My first question is on your balance sheet. While the reduction in net debt is commendable, could you elaborate on the rationale for maintaining about INR 60 crore of cash on the books instead of further paring down gross debt? Is this a strategic decision to preserve liquidity amidst continued content volatility? While this quarter was good, there still remains some volatility and uncertain box office recovery trends. Is that the thought process?
Kavish, I'm Gaurav here. Our guiding principle and strategy for cash is that because we are a fixed cost business, a bulk of our costs are fixed in nature. We carry anywhere between 45 to 60 days' worth of fixed cost coverage in the form of liquidity. This quarter, we have seen an increase in cash balance. For the next six months, there are a lot of screens which are under pipeline for opening, and payments for those screens will be released. There will be some bit of utilization of this cash balance that will take place by the end of next quarter.
Overall, we will take a relook at the strategy for the liquidity and the overall debt levels by the end of the year, depending on where we end up, where we land up with the operating cash flows for the full year and how the cap expands out for the rest of the year.
Right. I think yes, that's right. You will need to take a look, given that now the expansion strategy is also increasingly more towards the CapEx-like models.
Yes, correct, correct. As I said, we'll take a call on reducing or pre-paying some of the debts by the end of the year once we have the full-year picture with us, and then we'll take a call.
Understood. Could you share some visibility on the upcoming slate under PVR INOX Pictures for the second half of the year and FY 2027, particularly the scale and kind of movies you're targeting?
There are a lot of films under distribution right now. I would request maybe Kamal, if you're there on the call, you can share that.
Sure, Gaurav. We've got, we are distributing 'Thama', which is coming out on this Tuesday, which is a Diwali release, followed by 'De De Pyaar De 2', which is a sequel in a successful franchise that's releasing on November 14. Also, along with 'De De Pyaar De 2', we are also releasing 'Now You See Me' sequel, which is again a successful franchise. 'Christmas Karma', which is the next film from Gurinder Chadha, will come out in November. 'Gustaakh Ishq', which is Manish Malhotra's first production as a producer, comes out on November 28. Junaid Khan, Mr. Aamir Khan's son's next film, would come out in December. There are many more in the pipeline. Suffice to say that PVR Pictures continues to have a very robust pipeline of films, and we are building our slate every quarter.
Most Hindi films tend to materialize maybe a month or two months before release, and therefore it's very tough to give visibility for the next quarter or the next financial year. I would say this, that we would release eight to nine Hindi films in a year, and typically about 15 to 20 Hollywood films in a year. That's been our track record. I see no reason why this track record will not be maintained going forward.
Got it. This was helpful. Thanks a lot. Wishing everyone a very happy Diwali in advance. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Jinesh Joshi from PL Capital. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Thanks for the opportunity. Sir, my question is on [R] SPH trade. While it was flat on YYDs, sequentially there has been a dip of about 9.5%. Now, given the fact that this quarter the footfall number was quite heavy, ideally, the SPH growth should have been better because one would expect a slightly better strike rate, so to say. Any specific reason as to why there has been a dip on a sequential basis?
Yeah, there are broadly two reasons for this dip. The reason one is that 'Saiyaara' and 'Mahavatar Narsimha' were the two dominant films. 'Mahavatar' sort of worked with a certain religious clan who believed that they would not want to consume F&B from a canteen that was serving non-veg food. Also, a lot of Jain community people came and watched the film in huge numbers. Our cinemas were turned into temples during those four-week periods, and this audience was refraining themselves from eating at all. Parallelly going through was 'Saiyaara.' 'Saiyaara' appealed to a very different audience, young teenager. The admissions in the tier one as well as tier two markets were very, very strong. We got a very different kind of clientele with 'Saiyaara', and they sort of chose not to eat at the candy. The second reason was about four adult films sort of getting bundled together.
Normally in the past, we have seen wherever we get A-rated films, this audience is slightly more careful, a little more rational, and hence refrains from hitting the candy in a big way. The four films I'm talking about are 'The Conjuring', 'Baggy', 'Bengal Files', 'Demon Slayer.' They all contributed a lot of footfalls and yet did not convert in great concession number. The reason three is the popularity of the Tuesday's, saver's day, which has been raking in really well. We get close to about 15% - 17% footfall of the entire quarter coming in from Tuesdays alone. There, again, we see this clientele not eating as much. These are broadly the three reasons why the SPH was down. The first two are completely controllable in a manner because we don't get a slate of all adult films coming together. It was a rare thing.
'Saiyaara' and 'Mahavatar' again rallying together created this little dip in the SPH sale.
Understood. Understood. Secondly, I believe CCI had initiated an investigation against us for a levy of VPF. I just wanted to check on two things over there. I mean, are we charging VPF on both Bollywood and Hollywood? That is question one. Secondly, is there any expiry to this clause in the sense that after a few years, maybe we'll have our recovery in place for the investment that we have made towards acquiring the digital equipment? After, say, maybe a few years, will we continue to charge, or is there a timeline beyond which this fee comes to an end?
On VPF, on the CCI investigation that you are referring to, I think to the first part of your question, currently, we are charging VPF to all film producers and all filmmakers other than Hollywood. Hollywood has already seen a sunset globally. There is no VPF charge there. This is an industry-wide practice. Not only PVR INOX, but all other cinema exhibition companies are charging VPF for basically recouping the continuous substantial investments that are made for digital cinema equipment. As of now, there is no sunset or any such discussions. It's an important stream, and the CCI order is currently an investigation directive only. It's not a final finding. At this stage, it'll be premature to comment on any specific measures or give any specific comments there. The matter is still under investigation, and we will evaluate appropriate steps if required at the relevant time.
Understood. Understood. Just one last question from my side. If you can just share some progress on the smart screen initiative plan that I think was being communicated earlier. I think we have plans to open about 50 screens, and maybe the first screen is going to make a debut somewhere around December this year. I just wanted to check, I mean, have we identified the sites and signed the agreements? Also, the fact that over there, the pricing might be slightly cheaper. How will the ROI stack up against our existing portfolio?
Yeah, I think, you know, smart screens as a strategy, basically to penetrate into tier two, tier three locations. There's a huge untapped market there. India is one of the most underscreened nations. That's a model that we feel has a lot of potential to expand rapidly. We will have one of the smart screen cinemas coming this year as a POC. We feel that there is a strong market there. Depending on how the POC pans out, we will take a call at what rate and at what scale we will, you know, roll it out in other parts of the market. Would you like to add to that? Okay.
No, I think that's about it.
Yeah.
Anything on the ROI side you would want to comment? Is it better?
No, I think it's a little early for us to comment on the ROI because, you know, we will launch, as I said, a POC first in a market, and we will see how the market reacts to that. You know, what's the kind of demand that we are able to satisfy with this format? This will be a value format, smart cinemas, with a lot of use of digital technology in its processes. ATP and concession pricing will be lower than what we have currently at PVR INOX levels. We feel that lower pricing with smarter use of technology, we expect a good occupancy and good demand in the markets where we launch it.
Got it, sir. Thank you and all the best.
Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Harit Kapoor from Investec. Please go ahead.
Yeah, good evening. Just two questions. The first half of this year has been strong in terms of footfalls. Regarding this, I had two points. One was, given films like 'Saiyaara', 'Mahavatar Narsimha' have opened up, I won't say new cohorts, but cohorts which were probably not coming to the cinema as often, senior citizens, the much younger population, etc. Do you see this as an opportunity, even like the content will be created in that order, which can result in higher footfalls incrementally? The second question is, just from a pipeline perspective, while you enumerated all these names in the second half of the year, what's your level of confidence in terms of occupancy being fairly robust next to? Those are my two questions. Thank you.
Gautam, you would like to take on the first one?
Yeah, I could. Your first question was on the fact that how's the pipeline looking? Or was that the second question?
That was the second.
The first one.
[crosstalk] The second one.
On the segmentation, right?
Absolutely. I got that question. Basically, what you're saying is absolutely right. These movies have actually opened us a new audience. We always believe that when a consumer comes to cinema once, he comes back again and again and again. It's a fairly intoxicating experience. Only when you get to the cinema, you actually realize what you are missing sitting at home. Invariably, our data seems to prove that the biggest, toughest challenge is to get the person to get to the cinema once. If that comes in, he keeps coming back. Now, on the second part, where will creative guys now be seeing this trend and making more movies? Yes, absolutely.
It always happens that when a film does well, more than we strategize, the content owners and creators sit back and realize there's been so much of data collection, understanding of what really has happened and how this movie seemed to, these movies have seemed to do well. 'Mahavatar' has opened another floodgate for animation in another way because so far in India, animation never did so well. After the success of this film, it has encouraged so many people to look at this as a very strong genre going forward. It always globally did so well. In India, it hadn't done so well. However, after 'Mahavatar', that's opened up. 'Saiyaara', of course, signals the clear path from stars to stories, where stars are very, of course, very, very powerful. They are looked up. Stories have now become the mainstay.
When even a star is backing a great story, I think it would tend to do a lot bigger and much better business than just relying on the star. I think these are very, very refreshing, good trends that have opened up and have got the entire industry, be it exhibitors or be it content owners, all wanting to strategize and see how they can sort of work with this trend and grow this further.
Great. On the pipeline bit also, just a comment would be helpful.
Yeah, on the pipeline, Harit, on the pipeline, the second part of your question, I think the lineup for Q3 and Q4 is very strong. Typically, October, November, December is festive season. In the past, we've seen a very strong performance. We expect that Q3 as well as Q4, the second half performance, will be at least equal to, if not better than, what we have done in H1. I think overall, looking at the lineup, we feel reasonably, you know, of doing better numbers. The momentum is likely to continue.
Great. Wish the team all the best. Thank you.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, to ask a question, you may please press star and one. Our next question comes from the line of Varun Mulle from YES Securities. Please go ahead.
Hi, team. Congratulations on a very strong set of numbers. My first question was regarding the movie distribution side. Has there been a dip in terms of the number of movies distributed in Q2, which has led to lower other operating income during the quarter?
And so.
There is.
Sorry, go on.
Yeah, go on.
Go on.
In terms of the absolute number of films, there's been no change. Last year in quarter two, which was in the month of August, 'Stree 2' was released, which was distributed by PVR INOX Pictures, which was the biggest film of last financial year. As a result, it was the biggest quarter for last year. Versus this year, in quarter two, the big film that was distributed was 'Son of Sardaar 2.' Its collections were slightly underwhelming as compared to what was expected. As a result, there is a dip. In terms of the volume of films, there's no drop in terms of the number of films that we are distributing.
Understood. Could you repeat the number of films that you're planning to distribute over the FY 2026 or the remaining two quarters?
Like I said, our overall annual slate looks something like this. We end up distributing somewhere between 8 to 10 Hindi films. This is a bouquet of mid and big films. We tend to do between 15 to 20 Hollywood films. In terms of number of films in our slate, that number is expected to remain in this range in this current financial year.
Understood. Regarding the box office collections over July, August, and September, we have seen a bit of a deceleration happening from July, which did a very strong collection across the industry with INR 300 crore plus movie collections for two movies. August saw a bit of deceleration, and September was even lower. Has there been a pickup that we have seen in October, or do we expect a bit of a pickup post Diwali? How has the month-on-month collection trend been?
Month-on-month is strong. October has been panning out very good for us. 'Kantara', which was released on 1st of October, is the first movie of this financial year to cross INR 500 crore India gross box office. On the back of 'Kantara', 'Jolly LLB's' spillover in this month, and a few other movies, 'Sunny Sanskari', which was released in the first week of October, the footfall momentum is pretty strong. Plus, there is a movie called 'Thama' coming on 21st October, and a few good films also releasing in October. I think you will see month-on-month up and down in footfalls depending on what movies are there. As such, the demand momentum that we are seeing is very, very strong.
Understood. Regarding the 'Thama' release, we have seen a bit of a lower number of launches for the Diwali calendar. Do you think that will have some impact? Last year we did have 'Singham' and 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa' launching during the Diwali, which did almost a total of INR 500 to 600 crore collections. Could that have some impact in terms of base effect?
No, we don't feel so. This year we had 'Kantara.' In fact, it's a good thing that, you know, we have no two big film clashes on the same Diwali weekend. We had 'Kantara' coming on 2nd October, which was a long weekend, and now 'Thama' coming on the Diwali weekend. As a result, the spread out of big films over two or three weekends is a healthy sign for the business. I think the big clashes that we have seen in the last couple of years on big days, on big weekends is no longer there, which is a healthy sign.
Understood. Lastly, just on the new screen additions, we have 132 screens signed under [capital light] strategy. When is the launch expected for these screens? If you can just give a broad timeline, what would be the mix going forward in terms of FOCO versus Asset Light and own?
These are screens which have been signed, and they will come up over the next two years, 18 months to 24 months. As and when these sites and malls are ready, we will open these screens. We are also getting a lot of inbounds from all across the country on franchisee deals and franchise opportunities for PVR INOX branded cinemas. I think, going forward, we will have a healthy balance between Asset Light and our own cinemas. It'll be almost 50/50, where 50% will be in the Capital Light model, a combination of Asset Light and FOCO. The balance 50% will be cinemas where we invest 100% of our own capital.
Understood. Regarding the Capital Light model, Asset Light will continue to have higher share compared to FOCO?
Yes, that's right. FOCO would have a lesser share than Asset Light model.
Understood, sir. Thank you so much for answering the questions and all the best.
Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Sameer Gupta from India Infoline. Please go ahead.
Hi, good evening, sir, and thanks for taking my question. First question is on the regulatory aspect. We have the U.S. government coming up with tariffs on non-U.S.-made content. Technically, it shouldn't have any issue for PVR INOX. Typically, the movies do have some portion of revenue coming from the outside markets. If that impacts the budgets of the movies going forward, do you see an impact on theatrical revenues and footfalls as well?
Kamal?
Yeah, that's a fair question. At this point, we don't really have clarity as to in what shape and form this tariff will be imposed on international films traveling into the U.S. Therefore, it's very difficult to comment on the implications and the second-order effect if that will end up reducing the number of films being produced. Very difficult to comment on that at this point. We are watching this space very closely. As you rightly mentioned, for a domestic market-focused company like PVR INOX, this development in the U.S. has very little impact on day-to-day business. We are watching it very closely.
Is there any update on the Karnataka order that was aimed to cap the movie ticket prices?
Gaurav?
Sorry, can you repeat the question, please?
Karnataka order.
Any update?
No, there's no. I think, you know, we have already got a stay in our favor. After that, there was an appeal which was filed by Karnataka Film Chambers of Commerce and some other appellants in the High Court of Karnataka against the stay order. However, the High Court, in its order dated 30th September, has upheld the stay on the price cap. The next date of hearing is awaited. As of now, there's no further update.
Got it. Another question, sir, just more of a conceptual question. What is better for PVR INOX as a business, a blockbuster movie which has run for many weeks or a decent hit which runs for two weeks, but many more decent hits? Let's say both of them end up clocking, both of the streams end up clocking the same revenue. From an EBITDA perspective, a movie that has a much longer run should technically benefit you more, right? Because typically, the percentage that you share with the producers decreases in the subsequent weeks.
It's like a cricket team. We need all players, and there are different roles. Blockbusters definitely have a role to give big openings, to get big numbers. Of course, you have this content that should sort of come, good content that plays out for a couple of weeks, fades out, and another one comes in. The sheer strength of PVR INOX being spread into the entire country and being able to get numbers through many languages has a huge advantage. During Durga Puja, it was four Bengali films that rallied together and got us numbers. Next week, there's a big Punjabi film, and the entire Punjab region would possibly prosper with great admits. Actually, there is not an either/or kind of an answer here. We need both.
We need blockbusters because big stars have their own charm, their own following, and they have the might to be able to get a lot of people into cinemas and create that FOMO. Of course, you need a lot of good content coming in, which plays out about a couple of weeks and gives way to the next one. Actually, there is a space and role for both to coexist and do well.
Both is always better, sir. Let's say either/or, would you like to come? I'm just trying to understand financially, nothing else.
No, so financially, you know, as Gautam said, both are important. Big films drive a lot of excitement, buzz, and as a result, even advertisement slots are booked in advance for a longer period of time and helps in advertisement revenues. Sleeper hits, on the other hand, you know, they run probably longer, and you know, from a film hire perspective, benefit PVR INOX. On the other hand, because they are sleeper hits, the ability to generate buzz amongst marketeers is limited. It's a combination of both the films that are required and a balance between mega blockbusters and regular hits. Both of them are important. Financially, there's no substantial difference when you look at, you know, comprehensively across all revenue streams.
Got it, sir. That's helpful. I'll come back in the queue for any follow-ups. Wish you a very happy Diwali to all the team.
Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Abhishek Banerjee from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.
Hi, thanks for the opportunity. Sir, congratulations on a great set of numbers. Looking ahead, while there is enough clarity on the Q3 pipeline, Q4, despite a strong pipeline in the first month, there is also the cricket World Cup, T20 World Cup. How are you kind of thinking about that? I mean, will there be enough releases during that time to keep the occupancy levels high?
Kamal, would you want to take this?
Q4 traditionally has been a lean quarter among the four quarters. In this financial year, Q4, in fact, is going to be a very strong quarter. A, because a lot of strong films like 'Raja Saab' and 'Border' are releasing in January. Some of the films which were slated for December release, like 'Romeo' with Shahid Kapoor, have moved to February. Also, Toxic, which is Yash, the person who was helming KGF, the KGF franchise, his next outing, which is a very big multilingual mainstream commercial film, is coming out in the third week of March. The reason they're coming out in the third week of March with such a big film is because [Eid] this year, which traditionally has been a strong week to release big films, is falling in March. Typically, it falls in April or May.
With the movement of the Moon and the whole calendar, this year, Eid is in March. Excuse me, can you put yourself on mute, please? There's a lot of background. This year, because of Eid happening in March, you would find a lot of big films which will come out in March as well. Vis-à-vis cricket, our business has learned to coexist with cricket. Cricket is happening now throughout the year. There is a World Cup every second year or every year almost. There is a World Cup. It's either a 50 over World Cup, a T20 World Cup, a Test Match Cricket World Cup, or a Women's Cricket World Cup. Of course, we've got IPL, which is happening every year in March, April, May. Therefore, our film business has learned to cope and coexist and flourish along with cricket. We don't see that to be a big competition.
People have adjusted their lifestyles, and they sort of make time for both activities. We may also end up playing the World Cup at our cinemas as well. From that aspect, there will be an added advantage as well.
Got it. Just also wanted to understand, like, while big producers generally refrain from releasing movies around cricketing tournaments, is it the same for smaller budget movies as well, or is there, you know, more acceptance there?
There are two schools of thought. One school of thought is that, you know, if you release a big film during when there is a cricket tournament or some sort of a cricket plan unfolding, because there is less competition, your film will have a longer run, longer stay at the box office. Not everyone is a cricket follower. Even in a large country like India, even in a cricket-fanatic country like India, which is fairly large, people have diverse tastes. There are a lot of people who don't follow cricket that well. Therefore, if you have a big film playing at that point in cinemas, producers get the advantage of lesser competition. That's one school of thought. The other school of thought is that if we have a big film, let's stay away from cricket.
Let the smaller films come out and use that as an opportunity to maximize the box office potential. Both schools of thought exist. We'll wait and see how producers perceive this World Cup cricket to be. Our sense is big films will come out.
Understood. Recently, Aamir Khan gave an interview where he actually spoke about the problem that is ailing, you know, the movie industry is that there is a very short window for theatrical run, and then it goes on, you know, OTT platforms. Now, is that just a one-man talking, or do you really see a change, you know, thoughtful process of the producers of, you know, Indian movies?
Kamal, are you there?
Mr. Kamal, if you are speaking, you are not audible at this moment.
Hi, can you hear me now?
Yes, we are audible, sir.
Okay. We agree with Mr. Aamir Khan's statement. Windows are short, and we do believe there is potential to make the windows longer. Your second part of your question, whether other producers will follow the same thought process, we think so. We think there is a gradual, you know, but sure shift which is taking place in the thought process of producers. They are appreciating the value for each eyeball that they get from theaters, which is much higher than the value that you get from streamers or television. Therefore, they want to bet big on theaters. They want to go all in. Like in case of Mr. Aamir Khan, he went all in.
He said, "I will not release it on SVOD." There are a lot of other producers who are making the same, you know, who are sharing privately the same point of view that for their films, they want to release it in theaters and then go for TVOD, Transaction VOD, but not SVOD. We do think his thought process, what he did, the strategy that he followed with 'Sitaare Zameen Par' is influencing the thought process of a lot of other producers. You would see some action in that direction as we move forward.
Understood. Thank you. Those are all my questions.
Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Pravesh Kochar from FourLion Capital. Please go ahead.
Hi, thank you for taking my question. On your comment about animated movies, you know, also sort of picking up in the Indian cinema demographic and the cost of making such movies now coming down with the advent of sensitive technology, are you seeing any incremental excitement from producers of these kinds of movies? Should we expect more supply in the medium term, two to three years, or is it too early to say that?
You would surely see a supply of more animation films. What's happened with 'Mahavatar Narsimha' is definitely a case study. A lot of people in the industry also believe that the animation that was used and the overall production values which were there in the film had a lot of scope for improvement. Therefore, people also talk about the possibilities that when the production values are up to its fullest potential, animation quality is 3D in true sense, using all sorts of high dynamic range and all sorts of new technologies. The storytelling, which is grounded in Indian ethos, the kind of results that you can see could be at par with what we see in Hollywood. There is a lot of excitement around animation films rooted in Indian stories. A lot of producers are thinking about it. A lot of producers are already investing money in that direction.
You would surely see a lot of action in this area of filmmaking as we move forward.
Is there any potential of two-way collaboration where there is some incremental insights you can give from the data that you have on the viewers and the group sizing or the number of visits they have, multiple visits they have, or that's not something that's being undertaken right now?
Our producer partners are extremely intelligent and very well informed with the trends which are going on in the market. They do a tremendous amount of research, a tremendous amount of qualitative studies to figure out what consumers are seeking from them in terms of storytelling, technology, and immersive experience. Of course, part of that exercise is also to take our inputs as exhibitors. That knowledge sharing, that exchange of notes is a constant process. It's an ongoing process between producers and exhibitors. I must give full credit to our content suppliers. We have amongst the best in this city of Mumbai and other cities in South Chennai and Hyderabad where the regional cinema gets conceived and produced. We have some really talented people, and we do our best in sharing our notes and intelligence that we collect from the market. That's an ongoing exercise.
Understood. Last question, more on the beta side. For H1, 78 million-odd footfall, whichever way you track, how many would be unique versus, you know, repeat visitors? Also, if you can give the group size for H1?
This is sensitive information. We would not be comfortable to put it out in public.
Understood. Thank you so much. All the best.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we will take that as our last question for today. I would now like to hand the conference over to the management for closing comments. Over to you, gentlemen.
Thank you, everyone, for joining us today. If you have any further questions, please feel free to reach out to our investor relations team. Wishing you and your families a very happy Diwali. Thank you so much.
Thank you. On behalf of ICICI Securities, that concludes this conference. Thank you all for joining us. You may now disconnect your lines.