Why half of India's screens draw a blank? | Mint Explains | Mint

The video discusses the lopsided screen expansion in India that focuses on cities and states with better infrastructure and slants away from states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh (UP), Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and the northeast. It also highlights the fact that the high cost of real estate is one of the biggest hindrances in building new cinema halls or multiplexes, which is where most major multiplexes would like to house their properties. Due to this, mid-scale, tightly budgeted Hindi movies are banking more on a niche release plan, which completely shuns under-screened markets in the country and instead focuses aggressively on areas where print and publicity costs can at least be redeemed. This leaves significant sections of the audience unable to view these films, and also deprives cinema owners and distributors of returns on films that do reach these areas. The video also mentions how the pandemic has worsened the situation, with the theatre-going audience in India shrinking by over 16%.