Telangana Ticket Hike: Exhibitor Warns Single Screens Could Take a Hit?
He points out that more than 80% of theatres in Andhra Pradesh are air-conditioned, making the ticket hike more practical there.
A veteran Telangana exhibitor has expressed strong reservations about the state government’s revised cinema ticket pricing, warning that the hike could put further pressure on single-screen theatres.
According to the exhibitor, the revised rates do not take into account the ground realities of Telangana’s theatre infrastructure. “This will ruin single screens in Telangana,” he says, pointing out that Hyderabad alone has around 150 air-cooled single-screen theatres, while only a couple of theatres in the city have air-conditioning.
He argues that categorising theatres under premium and non-premium segments without considering their existing facilities could hurt the majority of single-screen exhibitors. “Telangana exhibitors are already suffering due to high maintenance costs and low returns. This will only make things worse,” he says.
The exhibitor also points out that many air-cooled theatres cannot immediately benefit from the higher ticket prices without making significant investments to upgrade their infrastructure. “Converting an air-cooled single screen into an AC theatre would require around 150 tonnes of air-conditioning capacity and an investment of approximately Rs 60–70 lakh. Only then can they take advantage of the revised pricing,” he explains.
He further says that the additional electricity costs would become another burden. According to him, an AC theatre could incur a monthly power bill of around Rs 5 lakh, compared with roughly Rs 1,25 lakh for an air-cooled theatre.
The exhibitor believes the Telangana government has made the mistake of directly following the ticket-pricing model adopted in Andhra Pradesh. “The government has unfortunately followed the Andhra Pradesh GO, but the situation in Telangana is completely different. It goes against the interests of nearly 300 exhibitors in the state,” he says.
He points out that more than 80% of theatres in Andhra Pradesh are air-conditioned, making the ticket hike more practical there. “When you copy-paste the same structure in Telangana, it will not work because only a handful of theatres are air-conditioned. We have therefore urged the government to reconsider the ticket hike order,” he adds.
Earlier, the Telangana government revised cinema ticket prices by fixing minimum and maximum rates for different categories of theatres. The move was aimed at bringing greater transparency to theatre operations, supporting the film industry and keeping cinema affordable for audiences.
Under the revised structure, non-AC theatres can charge between Rs 30 and Rs 70 for non-premium seats and Rs 50 to Rs 100 for premium seats. Standard AC theatres can charge Rs 50 to Rs 150 for non-premium seats and Rs 100 to Rs 200 for premium seats.
For special theatres equipped with advanced technical facilities, ticket prices have been fixed between Rs 100 and Rs 250 for non-premium seats. In multiplexes, ticket prices will range from Rs 200 to Rs 300.
