''Footfalls in the third quarter rose following a disappointing second quarter, reaching pre-Covid levels, according to India's largest multiplex operator.
"Second quarter was disappointing because some of the Hindi films did not click but Q3 looks on track with almost pre-Covid level (footfalls)," said Ajay Bijli, chief managing director at PVR. The footfalls in the October-December quarter are aided by Indian films that are doing well.
"The habit of staying at home is going away and they (people) are getting out. The malls are attracting amazing amount of footfalls and our locational strategy has always been very very good," he said.
Bijli also said the fourth quarter will not be ''disappointing'' on the back of a slew of upcoming Bollywood, Hollywood and South Indian movie releases.
Speaking about the company's plans, Bijli said, ''PVR's expansion in southern cities like Bengaluru and Chennai will be alongside those in northern cities like Jaipur.''
PVR had previously announced that it plans to open a total of 100 screens in financial year 2022-23. According to Bijli, the company's portfolio is equally distributed in the south, west and north. Whereas, in the east, the company "lacks" screens and is in the process of adding more.
"This year perhaps south will have a more skew of screens. A little percentage will go up," Bijli said.
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