India’s movie theatres are caught in an uncomfortable paradox. The country produces more films than any other, yet fewer people are turning up to watch them on the big screen. The reasons are not sentimental but structural, rooted in pricing, technology, policy, and shifting patterns of consumption that have transformed the business of cinema itself. Over the past five years, average ticket prices have risen by almost 50 per cent, while footfalls have declined by around six per cent in the past year alone. The economics are brutal: for a student or a working-class family, a single visit to a multiplex can mean spending over a thousand rupees on tickets and snacks.

Theatres defend the prices, arguing that maintaining modern facilities ~ air-conditioning, sound systems, safety standards ~ demands steady revenue. But the result is a narrowing audience base. What was once mass entertainment is quietly becoming a premium product. The pandemic marked a........

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