Back to the movies: Cinemas welcome viewers with starry, big-ticket releases

Badhaai Do is the first major Bollywood release to hit the big screens after cinemas were forced to shut down following the Omicron wave. Now that theatres are finally back in business, distributors are expecting an upcoming blockbuster season with several big-budget flicks announcing fresh release dates across the next few months.
The Valentine’s weekend will be a particularly rosy one for moviegoers, with the Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar-starrer –that’s a sequel to the National Award-winning Badhaai Ho – welcoming them back to cinemas. And despite a few hiccups still, i.e. capacity restrictions in theatres across the country, and night curfews in some states – distributors are optimistic as they feel that all the good content in the pipeline will translate into good business for the industry.

Thrilled to have that ‘nervous Friday feeling’ before a big screen release once again: Rajkummar Rao

Talking about Badhaai Do being the first major release post reopening, lead star Rajkummar Rao says, “The experience of watching a film on the big screen is something that cannot be replaced. We, as a team, have made a film which is meant to be enjoyed with family. It’s an experience that we feel everyone should have. I am thrilled to have that nervous Friday feeling and those butterflies in my stomach before the release of my film on the big screen. Honestly, this wouldn’t have been possible if the makers didn’t have so much faith in us and our film.”

Akshat Ghildial, writer of Badhaai Do

We are confident that good content will make viewers return to cinema: Exhibitors
Apart from Badhaai Do, and Hollywood films Death On The Nile (starring Gal Gadot and Ali Fazal),

Moonfall

(starring Halle Berry) and the Jennifer Lopez rom-com

Marry Me

, that release on February 11, Tom Holland-starrer Uncharted is scheduled for a February 18 release.

Girish Johar, producer and film business expert, says, “We are confident that with such good content across the board in the coming months– be it the upcoming

Hindi

, regional or Hollywood releases – the recovery process will begin. Good content will definitely provide the much needed oxygen to film exhibitors and the film industry. We have a strong lineup from next week, including Badhaai Do. With cases on the decline, we’re optimistic that viewers will return to cinemas.”
Most of the highly anticipated films of January were postponed due to COVID. Now, makers have announced new dates as cinemas reopen.

Raj Bansal

, a distributor, says the upcoming weeks and months are going to be quite interesting for the film fraternity and moviegoers. He says, “There is a backlog of films. We are looking forward to not just blockbuster weeks, but blockbuster months. With COVID restrictions easing out in states, we are hoping more states will increase the occupancy in the cinemas.”
Yogesh Raizada, an exhibitor, adds, “In November-December, it was clear that there is an appetite for a theatrical experience among moviegoers. We have seen that good content gets footfall. It was like a confidence booster for us. Moviegoers are willing to come out to watch films and we are hoping that beginning next week moviegoers from all age groups will be back.”

‘We Missed going to the movies’
It has been almost one-and-a-half months since people have been able to get together and go to cinemas, and they indeed missed that feeling. Sachin Arora, a moviegoer, says, “We have been waiting for film releases. It was only when I went to watch a film in the cinema hall post reopening last year, that I realised how much I missed watching films in the theatre. There is no comparison between watching films at home and in cinemas. There are films you want to watch with your friends to laugh together.”