Why are movie tickets so expensive? A cinephile's plea for affordability

Indian Express

3 days ago

It was the year 2006. Krrish had hit the theatres, and it was the first time my parents were taking me to watch a movie on the silver screen. Paras Cinemas, Nehru Place, now known as INOX Paras, was then a single-screen theatre. We bought the tickets in 'black' and three of them cost just Rs 210. I still remember Hrithik Roshan leaping onto a horse and then into the sky — it was the exact moment the seven-year-old me fell in love with cinema. And in that love, theatres played a starring role.
From Saif Ali Khan racing for redemption in Ta Ra Rum Pum to Brad Pitt 'flying' in his F1 car; from Shah Rukh Khan being reborn in Om Shanti Om to Shah Rukh Khan being reborn again as Pathaan; from Harry Potter defeating Voldemort to Iron Man snapping his fingers to end Thanos, theatres have given me countless moments to hold on to. Sitting in a dark room with strangers, watching stories unravel on a giant screen, was more than just the trivial act of moviegoing. For me, it was a ritual — a highly rewarding one.
But then I grew up. And with adulthood came the moment that every cinephile dreads: paying for the tickets myself. Theatres once gave me my first taste of stories that felt larger than life. They gave me magic and belongingness. Now, they give me anxiety and a bill.
This summer alone has been a blockbuster for the box office with Superman, F1, Mission: Impossible, Metro In Dino, and Saiyaara. But for anyone like me who enjoys movies the traditional way, on the big screen, it's also been the costliest one yet. For the first time, I wasn't just excited about new releases; I was also calculating whether I could afford to watch them. Superman tickets alone were priced anywhere between Rs 400 and Rs 1,600.
I never thought much about ticket prices until recently. Now, I plan around them. I wait for discount days. I resurrected an old bank account just because it gave me a 50 per cent cashback. I have become that person who refreshes the coupon section on apps before deciding whether I can afford to watch a movie on release day. Often, I find myself texting friends, not just to share the film but to ask, 'Want to come? There's a buy-one-get-one offer.' I never used to care about going alone. Now, I feel like I need company, just to split the cost.
And that hurts. I have always been someone who lives for the 'first day, first show'. But now, major chains have started offering Rs 99 – Rs 149 ticket prices on Tuesdays to boost footfalls, and I often find myself waiting till the fifth day and catching the last show just so I don't burn a hole in my wallet. The excitement of walking into a packed house on Friday has now been replaced by the disappointment of waiting for Tuesday.
Let's not forget that the ticket price is just the beginning. Add Rs 100 for parking, Rs 700 for popcorn — more if you dared to ask for cheese or caramel or a drink — and of course, taxes. Suddenly, your simple plan to watch a movie turns into an over Rs 1,000 experience. And this is if you are going alone. If you are going with someone, it may as well be a small budget holiday.
The annual 'Box Office Report' by the Mumbai-based research firm, Ormax Media, reveals a telling figure. In 2022, the average price of a movie ticket was Rs 119. In 2023, it rose to Rs 130. And in 2024, it touched Rs 134. That's a 12.6 per cent rise in just two years, and a whopping 45.6 per cent increase from 2015.
Now, it must be noted that box office earnings have also grown in that period. In 2024, films earned Rs 11,833 crore (though this was marginally less than 2023's Rs 12,226 crore). This marked a 42 per cent rise over 2015 earnings. However, footfall is yet to recover to its pre-pandemic levels. Just before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, box office footfall was at a high of 103 crore in 2019, which has fallen to 88.3 crore in 2024, even lower than the 94.3 crore in 2023. The report notes, 'This underscores the increasing dependence of the box office on rising Average Ticket Prices (ATP) in recent years.'
It's not just casual moviegoers feeling the heat. Even those immersed in the film ecosystem are being priced out. Anshul Gupta, a journalist based in Delhi-NCR, summed it up best: 'I have watched 24 films in theatres already this year — 34, if you count all the media screenings and film festival movies. In short, I watch a lot. Doing this in Delhi-NCR in 2025 is an expensive hobby. Being in the media business, I am still able to watch a few through the screenings but I think looking for coupons, card discounts and other 'jugaads' every time when a tentpole film releases is getting on my nerves.'
To understand how the situation plays out in other cities, I reached out to Abhinav Chakraborty, a senior journalist based in Chennai and a fellow film enthusiast. Chakraborty self-admittedly watches one movie in the theatre almost every week. When asked whether pricing impacts his viewing habits, he responded, 'Yes, it does. I grew up in Mumbai where tickets are much pricier, especially on the first weekend. Compared with that, Chennai's ticket prices don't exceed Rs 250 at any point (not applicable for IMAX, of course). So while I only looked at morning shows back in Mumbai, here I can go watch movies according to my convenience.'
Chakraborty added, 'I believe the range of movie ticket prices in Delhi is similar to that in Mumbai, which would make moviegoing every weekend unviable.'
Affordable ticketing doesn't just allow you to watch a movie; it encourages a habit of watching. It aids a culture of moviegoing and helps build a community. If Chennai can cap prices and still run successful shows, why can't the other northern and western regions follow suit?
Just recently, Karnataka announced a price cap of Rs 200 on movie tickets. That's a move in the right direction. But when I tried to get a sense of how theatre chains view this issue, the responses were guarded. I reached out to a few cinema managers, but none were willing to comment. A duty officer at PVR Cinemas, Mall of India, said people may not be frequenting theatres because 'there is an abundance of content'. 'Because of OTT and YouTube, the audience has content on their phones,' he added.
But that doesn't offer the complete picture. As Chakraborty pointed out, lower ticket prices encourage him to watch films he might not even be interested in initially. A 2023 research by Ormax Media shows that while the 'appeal' of a movie stays stable when the ticket prices increase in multiples of Rs 25, there is a 15 per cent fall in appeal when the price point moves from double-digit to triple-digit figures (i.e. Rs 50 to Rs 100). The trend continues across multiples of Rs 100, with the appeal dropping by 18 per cent between Rs 100 and Rs 400. This is true for a regular film. For event films such as Pathaan or Tiger 3, with large-scale releases, the appeal is often higher despite expensive tickets. However, the appeal does drop between Rs 50 and Rs 400. Though ticket prices may not result in a dramatic decline in the appeal of a movie, they certainly have an impact. It shows that the shrinking footfalls at theatres may not be just about a lack of interest, but also a lack of access. When tickets cost as much as a decent dinner, experimentation dies. Curiosity becomes a calculated risk.
There's also a burgeoning idea of 'premium moviegoing experience' with recliner seats, curated menus, and call-a-waiter buttons. Some halls resemble luxury hotels more than cinemas. However, the experience isn't for everyone and may even be exclusionary.
So here's a simple request to the powers that be: let movies be movies again. Let them be accessible, affordable, and democratic. Don't make us choose between passion and practicality. Because when cinema becomes a luxury, it stops being culture and starts being a commodity.
Let me buy that ticket without flinching. Let me sit in the dark with strangers and feel wonder, not worry. Let me be that seven-year-old again, watching Hrithik Roshan fly, not calculating if I can afford to watch him land.