The state government is taking no chances. After the terror attacks, including the one near Metro cinema, the government, as a
precautionary measure, on Thursday ordered all cinema managements to suspend screening of films till further notice. The order has been issued to managements of both single-screen theatres and multiplexes as a security measure.

Mumbai has 75 multiplexes and 20 single-screen theatres. The order would thus affect about 450 shows on a daily basis. Theatre owners stand to lose business worth around Rs 2 lakh per day from ticket sales alone. They will also lose substantial revenues from food and beverage sales, which account for a major chunk of their total collections.

This is another blow to the exhibition business that has been struggling because of the lack of big hits from Bollywood. Last month, only one film — Dostana — managed to attract audiences to theatres, but that too was largely restricted to the metros.

Even stalwarts such as Subhash Ghai couldn’t manage to strike a chord with the audiences as Yuvvraaj faltered at the box office. Theatre owners aren’t sure about the situation for the next couple of days and don’t know when theatres will reopen. “As of now, we are not operating any of our multiplexes. The decision for the coming days depends on the situation. We have to wait and watch,” said PVR head-marketing Ranjan Singh.

The films to be most affected by the shutdown are Yuvvraaj, which released last week, and this weekend’s upcoming releases — Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye and Sorry Bhai! Since these are country-wide releases, the films will be affected only in Mumbai.

“As of now, we don’t know whether the films will release in Mumbai on Friday. But for the rest of the country, the films will release,” said Cinemax vice-president (marketing and programming) Devang Sampat.

Even though the weekend didn’t have any big releases, some multiplex owners were hoping for a good response from the low-budget Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye, as it had developed quite a buzz among audiences. Others fear that even if these films release, the response to them in all likelihood will be poor because of the current situation.

Weekends play a big role in the theatres business with larger footfalls, higher ticket prices and an increase in the number of shows by 20-30%.