FLEXI Show will give the audience the freedom to leave the movie hall at any point while paying only for the time they watched it.
IMAGE: Inside the PVR Icon movie theatre at the DLF Promenade Mall, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi. Photograph: ANI Photo
Not all movies keep the audience seated till the final credits roll. While some others see repeat viewers who only come to see a part of it, and leave.
Who knows it better than PVR INOX, which is now in the process of writing a fresh billing script. It is coming up with 'Pay for What You Watch Model' in theatres called FLEXI Show.
It will give the audience the freedom to leave the hall at any point in the movie while paying only for the time they watched it.
Renaud Palliere, CEO of the luxury collection and innovation, PVR INOX told Business Standard that as an entertainment company, they need to evolve in the type of products that they are offering.
This project is still in the pilot stage and is available in select cinemas across Delhi NCR and Gurugram for certain shows.
The audience, Palliere added, will have to opt for the FLEXI Show feature for an additional 10 per cent premium on the ticket price.
"We will use advanced technology, such as AI-powered video analytics, to monitor who is seated in the auditorium. The ticket is linked to your (audience's) seat, so the system knows when you arrive and when you leave," Palliere explained.
"This system will also calculate how much of the movie you watched and determine your refund based on predefined brackets," Palliere added.
The refund is calculated through the time left in the movie when a person leaves, for example, if 50 per cent of the movie is left, the person will get a 50 per cent refund or if 25 to 50 per cent is left, the person will get a 30 per cent refund and if more than 50 per cent is left, the person will get a 60 per cent refund.
"Through this, we are looking at broadening the audience base and also as a result fostering repeat viewers, due to the notion of flexibility being a big selling point where people can feel that they can actually watch a show multiple times and be able to enjoy the cinema on a more flexible basis," Palliere said.
The main focus area to expand this product is through Tier I cities, Palliere added.
Theatre giant to boost its premium-format screens
PVR INOX is aiming to boost its presence in premium formats like 4DX, IMAX, and ICE (immersive cinema experience) to meet the growing appetite for immersive entertainment and larger-than-life cinema experience among the moviegoers.
This follows with recently released Hollywood movies like Venom: The Last Dance in IMAX, Gladiator 2 in IMAX and ICE formats and animation movies like Moana 2, and The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.
One of the most awaited movies to be released in premium formats is Mufasa: The Lion King, which has Shah Rukh Khan and his sons voicing in the Hindi-dubbed version.
Currently, premium format screens contribute 15 per cent of the overall revenue of the multiplex giant.
Aamer Bijli, head of marketing and innovation, PVR INOX said the company plans to add 14 screens in premium format across seven cinemas, which is expected to open in the remaining part of the current fiscal year.
The company has 300 premium screens as of date out of 1,747 screens with 58 per cent of these located in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi NCR.
"Underserved in terms of formats specifically, I think that in the Bengaluru region for example, we are planning to add more 4DX (screens) there," Bijli added.
"We're also planning to add more IMAX there because the consumers are extremely excited about these technologies."
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com
