Tuesday, January 19, 2021
PVR Ltd. is now planning to release their movies in cinema halls rather than on streaming sites like those run by Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., now that the pandemic is easing in India.
The country’s biggest cinema operator, which runs about 835 screens across 71 cities, is currently operating most theaters at half capacity due to Covid-related restrictions. However, it sees benefits in the “age-old strategy” of movies first coming to the big screen before being monetized on other platforms.
A number of Indian films starring top actors such as Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, and Vidya Balan opted for streaming platform release in 2020 as theaters were shuttered by shelter-at-home rules.
PVR’s shares, which snapped eight years of gains to fall about 30% in 2020, have risen almost 14% this year. The stock has 20 buy calls, six holds, and four sales among analysts tracked by Bloomberg.
