The Dhurandhar franchise is breaking records at the box office. But even in the stock market, it is acting as the much-needed catalyst for the financial recovery of India's leading multiplex chain, PVR Inox, with analysts labelling the stock as the real 'Dhurandhar' as the company leverages soaring demand to strengthen its balance sheets.
Karan Taurani, Senior Vice President at Elara Capital, offered his thoughts on the immediate impact of Dhurandhar's monumental haul on pre-booking and the likely explosion at the box office.
"This is the third consecutive quarter wherein you may see occupancy levels trending towards 27, 28%, which is close to 80, 85% of pre-COVID levels. So, definitely things are looking far better as compared to what they were a year ago," he told NDTV Profit.
READ MORE: Dhurandhar 2 Advance Booking: Ranveer Singh's Film Sells Over 4.73 Lakh Tickets; Check Collection
Taurani added that PVR Inox is executing a strategic corporate overhaul to combat lagging advertising revenues, adding that the company is moving towards an FOCO model.
"They've clearly consolidated shutdown screens, which were lower in terms of profitability. They are trying to move to a FOCO model, which is low Capex in nature. So this will actually drive higher ROCE for the business, and that could eventually lead to re-rating in terms of valuation multiples," he said.
Market expert Parag Thakkar echoed this bullish sentiment, pointing to a robust upcoming movie pipeline and strengthening corporate financials. "In the next two quarters after this Gadar's big collection, they will become debt-free, actually, and they can do a buyback also in my view. They'll be so much cash rich," Thakkar said.
READ MORE: 'Cinema To Sleepover': Dhurandhar 2's Long 235-Minute Runtime Ignites Viral Meme Fest
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