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Mini ‘MOVIE SCREENING HALLS’….need your suggestions.

By saravana kumar on 56 Comments / 18150 views

I have an idea of starting up mini movie screening halls. This would be a premium offering where families can book tickets for watching movies, in a private theatre (10 to 20 seaters). I need to know about the formalities involved in this business including the licensing and other mandatory requirements. If anyone’s aware of these things, kindly help me out.

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56 Comments

  1. Metro in Mumbai already has as mini-theater having the identical concepts as yours.  Its operational since they got renovated to a multiplex from a single screen.

    In  regards to the business, you will have to sign up as a film distributors and get necessary licenses from both state, central and city govt departments. 

    Location will play a key role. Also expect it to be more of a weekend/holiday play

    Amar

  2. Saravana,

    You may want to take a look at http://www.miniplex.co.in, in case you have not done so yet. Miniplex works on a similar model. However, the capacity of each hall seems to be higher than what you have mentioned and the halls certainly do not seem to be for exclusive hire. It may not be a bad idea to consider their franchisee model if it is line with your requirement.

    Best wishes,

    Sunil.

  3. good concept .!!! Best of luck /..!!!

  4. Some one was looking to start a Day time Hotel Room Booking ??? 
    This is something as an Extension to the Video Parlors which flourish already, might get some College Bunking Teenagers interested in the Other Days apart from the Weekends or Holidays when the Theaters are full already, Guess you would fall under the same purview as Theaters, for the Licenses and taxes etc, since its only number of seating capacity which is different in your model rest all remains the same for Public Screening of Copyrighted materials. If not then you can become a franchisee of the various players already in this market, like PVR, Adlabs, Zee group etc

    Location would play a major factor so would be the taste in Decor and Facilities. The smaller it is the more noticeable everything becomes 🙂

    Mukul Sharma of Koimoi.com should have more information on the Entertainment industry and connections too with this regards.

    Good luck!!! Cheers!!

  5. Farhaan akhtar has his own mini theator with very limited seats for premier purposes, you can also consider this one as scope for market of premiers?

  6. Thanks for the inputs, Amar. I’ll look in to these areas too.

  7. Hi Sunil

    I guess the franchise models would not fit into my budget. Thanks a lot for the inputs…. and looking forward for more 🙂

  8. Thanks a lot Nitish.

  9. Thanks a lot for the inputs. I’ll be projecting this place as a mostly, family-first entertainment joint. Franchise option would be a costly affair, I guess. I’m working out on other options as well. Thanks again.

  10. Thanks a lot for the inputs. My vision is that, this place would be something like a living room of a rich mansion, with options for food (snacks) and a variety of seating solutions to choose from (couches, diwans, rocking chairs, recliners, etc.).

    Your suggestion of making this place a complete family joint sounds great. Will open up more options for sure.

    I’m looking for someone to guide me through the licensing part. Thanks again.

  11. Thanks a lot for the inputs. I’m looking at these options as well.

  12. I think no idea as is bad or good ..but the result matters.

    I think Investment is the key critical area & technology will kill this business in short run.

    You think of looking at gap in the market and partner with someone who would like to invest a part on it.as his co. You will run it.

    Most imp it has to be family….and food will surely mess it up …pricing is key . I don’t know with proper licensing if Adult content screening only, will reck pounds of money …is it legal????

  13. Just answer my Qn why you want to do it??

  14. Ashwin…

    A few rich people have in-built theatres in their homes, which many of us can’t afford, even if we would love to have one. And there is a huge number of people like us. I want to give these people and their families, an unforgettable movie watching experience at a value-for-money pricing. BTW, I’m NOT planning to screen adult content movies 😉

  15. saravana… we’ve got a handful of QSR-related rodinhooders like sanal bagelwala nair, perzen – bawi bride, karan pandhi, hitesh noodlewala bhatia, etc etc

    pls write to me if you need help in connecting with them… 

  16. Thanks a lot for the information, Asha. Do they also have the kind of mini theatres I’m talking about? That would be of great help, indeed!

  17. no – they are into the food biz!

  18. i know about this same concept . in indore on m.g road there is mall call treasure island , in that there is single screen theatre with around 50 pax capacity . there  concept is good they show mainly the regional cinema or the movies which are not anymore runned by the multiplexes. i feel 20-30 seater with new movies can be expensive affair. 

  19. Thanks for the input, Sahil. We’re also planning to have customized screening where viewers can chose the movies they want to watch.

  20. Saravana,

    One more thing, screening the movie is not free, there would be a minimum charge so a lower capacity venue will add to the ticket cost. 

    These rich people you talk about, they pay big bucks for personal viewing of the latest movies on the first day itself.  Trust me it goes to 5 figures with some yearly charge etc. This is for non-commercial use.  For commercial the economics totally change. 

    Suggest you to talk to few distribution companies first to get a hang of this major cost !

    Luck

  21. Sarvana I hope you have sorted out the service offering is it premium+ economy hopefully.

  22. Considering that more often than not it will be weekends when people will rent and flock to your theater, how will the economics work? Do you have the realty space and want to use that for this? 

    As some one rightly said earlier, just the movie experience may not be enough to pull customers, food definitely needs to be considered. Also during cricket season this can be a great way for families to have a good time together. 

    Whats the USP, why should one come to you? Whats the dream, whats the emotional connect you want the people to connect with this idea? 

  23. How about doing it this way?

    Do not register yourself as a theatre/ cinema – the licensing costs, formalities with distributors is long and only relevant if you only wish to screen the latest movies.

    Since, your plan is to cater to a particular type of audience who can pick and choose their movies – register yourself as a restaurant/ lounge (as the case may suit you) – and provide theatre kind of screening as additional services (you can always advertise yourself as having a theatre facility).

    Like various lounges have in-house projectors where live cricket and football matches are being telecast. You could ask the patrons to get the CD which they want to see (instead of you buying it – which may be called as public viewing and prosecution could be brought against you – (alternative) pay royalty for showing the movie from the CD)

    It would be easier to seek permission for a restaurant/ lounge with these facilities rather than the other way round.

    Obviously you would need to do a cost-benefit analysis – but in my opinion you should be able to save a lot of time and taxes.

  24. Ashwin..it would be a premium offering.

  25. The USP is to give a living room like film watching experience which no other theater gives. I’ll take your ideas into consideration. Thanks a lot.

  26. Hardik

    This seems to be a logical solution. Thanks a lot for this…I’ll work out the options.

  27. Thanks for the input, Amar. I’ll work out these options as well.

  28. Completely irrelevant idea in the age of streaming video + Tablets + smarthphones that cost <5K

    Reliance (Mukesh) will throw open Data Services that will make every watchman watch a movie on his phone (while ignoring whats happening in the building)

    How about using EXISTING real estate – conference rooms, company boardrooms and OFFERING FOREIGN, EXOTIC movies as a service??!!

    Then you dont invest in Bricks – only in software

  29. Alok you Nailed it and goog you barged in this discussion ..completely valid point perhaps real looking at the same idea and re Engeneering it brilliantly….Sarvana I said the same thing initially technology will make this idea an obsolete proposition

  30. True Alok but  Saravana  is highlighting the QUALITY USP in his idea. 

    One might get to view the movie but the real exp of its video, graphics &  sound etc will be missing if the hardware is not upto the mark. This is the gap Saravana is try to fill with his idea. 

    I had already raised certain pointers/roadblocks earlier on his idea. 

    My two bits .. 🙂

  31. Even if Mukesh Ambani offer 1 GB broadband speed free of cost, people would still flock to theaters. I couldn’t link what Alok said with this post. 

    Its not only about watching a movie on a big screen, its about watching it on a big screen in a theater like environment which is all to you and your family/friends! Add to it food, etc and its a get-together of sorts.

    What am I missing here?

  32. Balotiaa but this is a mini screen proposition and not Big screen one.

  33. Dear Alok…thanks a lot for commenting on this and giving a ‘Star’ status to this comment. 🙂

    My idea is not to compete with these gadgets…it’s about the unique movie watching experience + the ambiance which many people may lack in their homes. Many people have devices for movie watching, but everyone agrees on the point that watching a movie on a big screen with all those sound effects is in a different league altogether. I want to tap that segment. I would personally not hesitate to spend 5K to 10K a month for such an experience. I’m looking at people like me.

    Thanks again for the comments.

  34. Dear Amar

    You are portraying exactly my thoughts. Thanks again for your feedback.

  35. Thanks for the feedback, Jitendra.

  36. Hi Anirudh

    This is exactly what I want to offer…the EXPERIENCE which will not be available anywhere. A combination of theatre like ambience + sound quality + great food/snacks + privacy with your family + a living room feeling + unmatched feel good factor. Happy that some of my friends here agree with me 🙂

  37. Sarvana multiplex owners will also immediately this idea if it eats traction , how will you compete in that scenario( this is no way to discourage you but a way to give acid test to idea and make it full proof) I am also a filmmaker so would always back this one’

  38. Ashwin

    We see many small boutique restaurants that still do good business competing with big local hotels and high-end eating joints in star hotels. This is quite similar to that…a boutique cinema hall.

  39. Bad example.

    Why?

    Examine the ARPU of a restaurant and a cinema and the margins.

    Most of HIGH STREET shops in New York, San Fran are now small, large restaurants. Why? because margins on small are PHENOMENAL. You can get way with 99% margins on food. How much do you really think a Cappucino in Cafe Coffee Day costs?

    In a cinema, the “Price Elasticity” of the final sale price is very very rigid. No one will pay you more that the normal cost of a ticket. In fact, for smaller theatres they will expect lower charges.

    Your costs will however be higher because of lack of scale (compare costs of box office staff of your cinema VS.  a multiplex).

    Never make general, sweeping comparisons…(humble suggestion)

  40. Hi Anirudh,

    Probably you could look at private screenings such as the ones offered by UFO moviez where they would set up the equipment at a fixed cost and then charge as per the pricing of new movies. I was reading somewhere that they are offering such services for mostly celebrities and the elite. The most probable flip side could be exorbitant ticket prices. But if you are looking at 10-20 seater capacity your ticket prices would be high anyways. You would have to then analyse why people would like to come to your theater vs gold class or director’s cut being offered by PVR and other theatres. Good luck for your venture!!!

  41. Hi Jitendra,

    Although your idea is pretty novel, their are some obvious caveats such as outside noise interference, limited space for equipment and services, parking space ( which in most of the cities is an issue).

  42. Hi Sarvana,

    I think the concept of mini theaters could work well when it could be a part of a luxury apartment or township which has Mini theatre as one of the facilities. You could probably work on a yearly subscription with the association/ society where you could offer movies to be played every weekend/ national holidays.

    With this, you are assured of your subscription for the year and also need not worry on the no. of people coming to view the movie. Here the revenue model is not only building a one time mini theatre but also a service model where you would need to give the best movies as required by the customer every weekend.

    I strongly feel this could work well as most luxury apartment and townships now include a mini theatre. You could work with Architects and promoters from the planning stage to accomodate the mini theater.  

    Pls remember its not going to be an issue to get the theatre built but most important issue here is the format that you want to give to the customer. Will the movies be played out of DVD / Blue Ray discs or do you want to license it from companies like UFO or do you want to give your customer the DTS/Dolby/Atmos etc technology. For each of format, the costs involved are going to be different. Your investment or equipment to be used for the home theatre will depend on the format you decide. 

  43. This is interesting where this can lead to. 

    But if luxury apartments/townships already have mini-theater as part of their construction blue-print, “how” the movies will be played doesn’t seem to be a big issue. All they need is a project and a laptop to get going. I am not even going to the legally way of acquiring movies as no one would care. 

    And if I am not wrong, getting the space is the key thing. Land is the most expensive/valuable commodity in today’s world and specially in India and the metros. But let us assume that the space is not an issue, its about maintaining the mini-theater on a regular basis. This is where it can get interesting.

    You need to tie-up with builders at a very early stage to make the mini-theatre a valuable proposition for all involved. May be you can help with the setup(interiors, viewing catalog(movies, IPL, etc, the audio-video system) etc. You can charge annually membership with X movies or whatever. Nowadays going to the movies is an expensive affair and add to it the travel/parking issue, an in-house state of the art mini-theater in one’s own apartment complex can get exciting.

     Fragmented thoughts of mine.. 🙂 

  44. Hi Vishal,

    I would also agree with your proposal, this would really work well in luxury residential projects where they have a mini theatre/club. Probably the subscription price could be in built in the club membership fees or the maintenance fees. Revenue can be on sharing basis with the developer instead of monthly rental, this way the fixed costs would be lower. Good potential in this idea…

  45. Well just to let you know, the place where i stay we have a high end movie theater (15 seater)  this is provided by the builder itself. A group can rent it for 300 per seat and view a movie of their choice on their own DVD/blue Ray. 

    A fact since 2009 it has been used just 17 times only. The complex has approx 900 flats.

    Rgds

  46. Hi Amar,

    This is where the society/Association plays a role. If it would have been on a subscription like how Anirudh and Amar had mentioned, it could have been probably 170 or 1700 shows till now. The key is to make it a part of the membership fee and by default have movies screened every weekend.

    The schedule of the movies will known much earlier itself.  Even if 1-2 families come up to watch a show every weekend, you have more or less achieved your target.

    Our Indian mentality is such that  since we have paid for the membership, lets try to get the paisa vasool. 

    Regards

  47. However we beat around the bush,the idea is heading towards the cliff, as Alok said its unviable in first instance,it’s almost beating the dead horse.
    Land and property is the highest cost,maintain acne,it’s service industry (the most difficult of all) societies having restrictions for outsiders to share their premises,people those who afford and those who don’t want to contribute and so many issues.
    Rajan anandan google says today in BUis std: in 5 years more people will consume video on on aPersonal entertainment device!

    Now where does this idea stands? Sometimes one spends too much energy saying how much the idea is correct…than accepting it is not.

  48. For me any screen bigger than what I can afford at home is Big screen for me! 

  49. Movie cannot shouldn’t be the focus here. Say out of 5 hours a bunch of family/relatives/friends will spend, movie will be just 2 hours of it…rest is what will keep this going! IMO

    P.S. – Getting agreement on what you have in mind is ok, but getting disagreement is what will help improvise your idea and take it to the next level! Just saying! 🙂 

  50. 300 per seat and that too one needs to bring their own content?? wow…that’s stupid! 

    One of the issue is that these clubhouse, etc is hardly attractive beyond the initial period. This has been collaborated by the salespeople of the builders themselves multiple times in my experience and that too with a variety of builders(in Bangalore!) 

    Other issue is that they don’t promote/market it well. Like the one you mention, its absurd. 

    Having a platform is ok, but they need to keep events/activities going for optimum use!

    Subscription explicitly can be tricky. Lets say 100 seats are sold on subscription basis! As it happens every-time I go and plan to watch, all seats are full. For me paying that money was of no use! 

  51. Disagree! 

    This forum is not just about validating Yes or No.

    Its about listening to other people’s view also, you never know what can come out of this! 

    And just because Alok(or anyone else) said its nonviable should be stop discussing it? (Sorry Alok I don’t mean to demean you, but I guess you got the point!) 

    People are consuming more video content even now, but I didn’t read anywhere that Multiplexes are going empty!! Rajan Anandan said people will consume more video on their own device, but nowhere did he say that people will stop going to theater all-together! 

  52. That’s exactly my point Anirudh. Any hand-held device can’t give the feeling of a screen. My gut feeling says that people will definitely like this concept.

  53. Sarvana if your gut feel and belief is so strong then I would say right time to launch your idea.

  54. Thanks for the encouragement…Ashwin!

  55. PVR Director’s Cut allows you to rent out their 30 – 40 seater space!

  56. please do share your contact sir . we need some information regarding mini cinema hall .

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