The craze of watching movies in theaters has slowed down which has eventually resulted in low box office numbers of movies. Bollywood films have been struggling to earn significant collections at the box office which has led to financial loss for filmmakers as they can not mint enough money to overcome production costs. Only a handful of movies have managed to perform phenomenally. Karan Johar has now called out theaters for high-cost attached with film watching. 

Karan Johar addressed the issue of the lack of moviegoers visiting theaters during a roundtable hosted by The Hollywood Reporter India. KJo said according to surveys the average range of theatrical outings has been reduced because people would prefer spending that money in a restaurant rather than buying overpriced food and beverages. He stated the average expense of theatrical experience for a family of four could be Rs 10,000. 

Johar said that people prefer going to cinemas only twice a year during Diwali and when a film like Stree 2 is released. Sharing some insights of survey reports that he is privy of, Karan said “They went to 100 homes, and out of those 100 homes, 90 said they will watch only two films a year (in theatres).” 

He went on to add, “This is of an income group that is a massive part of our audience base. They can’t afford it. They maybe come out on Diwali, or if they hear about a film like Stree 2… Family members said that they don’t like to go to cinema halls, because when kids say that they want popcorn or something to eat, they feel bad denying them, so they would rather go to a restaurant, where they’re not paying for the ticket, they’re paying only for the food. They said, ‘Our child will point and say he wants caramel popcorn, but we can’t afford it’. Because the average cost for a family of four can be Rs 10,000. And maybe those Rs 10,000 are not in their economic planning at all.”

Zoya who was also present at the roundtable added, “People can’t afford to go to the cinema. They want to go to the cinema. If you’re going to go twice, you’re going to choose what films you want to go to. Even if I want to go see Laapataa Ladies, maybe I can’t afford to.”