Thursdays are turning into a challenging day for theater owners. Just last week, there was a standoff over showtimes between Mirzapur The Movie and Hanuman Ansh. This week, the situation has intensified for single-screen cinemas as they try to fit not only these two popular films but also the new movie, Haiwaan.
This is a unique situation for exhibitors. According to a trade source, there’s no real conflict here; the existing films are performing exceptionally well. Mirzapur The Movie had a fantastic weekend and has been holding steady during the weekdays. Hanuman Ansh also shows strong performance. The advance ticket sales for this weekend look promising in multiplexes, which adds more pressure on theaters to accommodate all three films.
Complicating matters further is the runtime of the films. Mirzapur The Movie runs for 3 hours and 17 minutes, while Hanuman Ansh is 2 hours and 30 minutes long, and Haiwaan clocks in at 2 hours and 44 minutes. This makes it tricky for theaters to divide their showtimes effectively among the three films.
As of 2:30 PM on September 10, advance bookings for any of the three films haven’t begun in many single-screen theaters across Mumbai, like Plaza, Citylight, and Regal. Smaller two-screen theaters are also facing similar challenges.
In Thane, Anand Cinema has decided to screen only Mirzapur The Movie throughout the day. Nishat Cinema will exclusively show Haiwaan, while Ajanta CineX has opted for a mix: three shows of Haiwaan and one each of Mirzapur The Movie and Hanuman Ansh. Meanwhile, the iconic Raj Mandir in Jaipur has scheduled Hanuman Ansh for 9:00 AM, Haiwaan for both 12:00 PM and 3:00 PM, and Mirzapur The Movie for 6:15 PM and 10:00 PM. It will be interesting to see how other single-screen cinemas navigate programming in the upcoming week.
