54% want to go to cinemas once lockdown is completely lifted: survey

A survey conducted by online ticketing site BookMyShow has shown that 54% of Indian entertainment consumers are eager to watch a film in cinemas in the next 15-90 days after the lockdown is completely lifted. The remaining would like to go to a cinema hall after 90 days.

The survey titled Back To Out-of-Home Entertainment had 4,000 respondents who are active users of BookMyShow services. It was conducted in May 2020 and all respondents were between the ages of 18 to 36, according to LiveMint.

Seventy per cent of the 4,000 respondents were from cities such as Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Vijayawada and Kochi. 49% of consumers who responded were aged between 25-34 years.

According to the survey, 98% of consumers expect the cinema halls to follow safety measures and maintain high levels of hygiene to ensure a safe film-watching experience. The survey also showed that male respondents want to go to the movies sooner as compared to females.

The survey showed that people in South India miss going to the cinemas more than people in other regions, 56 per cent respondents from South India are eager to venture into a cinema hall soon after the lockdown.  

Nearly all the people surveyed want the staff at cinemas to be trained in safety and hygiene measures and want deep cleaning of all cinema halls before opening. A large majority of 98% ask for disinfectant tunnels and thermal scanners, 69% look forward to big-ticket releases, 81% want new ticket offers while 95% of respondents want safe food and beverages to be served in cinemas.

Majority of the respondents, around 90%, are willing to follow social distancing norms while going to the cinemas, while only 10% prefer not living in a state of paranoia and fear of viruses and germs. More than half the respondents are unlikely to pay for higher ticket costs if cinemas decrease the number of seats in each hall as part of social distancing norms.

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