On Sunday, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting released revised SOPs for cinemas, allowing them to operate at full capacity. Cinemas have been asked to follow all COVID-19 protocols and focus on staggered shows to avoid overcrowding.

Announcing the SOPs, Prakash Javadekar, Minister for Information and Broadcasting, said, “It is good news for moviegoers that cinemas have been allowed to operate at 100% occupancy. We will encourage online bookings and staggered shows, and moviegoers can eat inside the cinema halls.”

100% seating capacity allowed, shows to be staggered

In the revised SOPs, cinemas/theatres/multiplexes are allowed to function with full capacity now. The I&B ministry’s SOPs suggest that after show is over, exits should be done in a staggered, row-wise manner to avoid crowding. There should also be sufficient time intervals between screenings to ensure row-wise staggered entry and exit of the audience. Cinemas have been asked to follow staggered show timings for multiple screens to avoid crowding. The show commencement time, intermission and end at any screen should not overlap with the start, interval or end of a show at any other screen at a multiplex.

Order food via cinema apps rather than the counter
To minimise physical contact, customers are encouraged to use cinema apps/QR codes, etc as much as possible to order their snacks. Apart from this, other measures to maintain COVID protocols include mandatory masks, six-feet distance (outside the auditorium, in common areas and in waiting areas) and self-monitoring one’s health.

‘This move will give confidence to producers to release their films in theatres’
Cinema owners say that the last few months have shaken the cinema business and they can’t wait to welcome back audiences with full capacity. In a statement, Gautam Dutta, CEO, PVR Limited, said, “This will finally give a much-needed boost to the multiplex industry. This move will give producers the confidence to release their much-awaited films and aid in audiences returning to cinemas to watch movies in the company of their loved ones.”

Alok Tandon, Chief Executive Officer, INOX Leisure Ltd., said, “For the revival of the cinema exhibition industry, relaxations of the seating norms was a vital prerequisite. This will ease apprehensions in the minds of content producers and studios, who may now announce release dates of their movies. We look forward to the state governments to give us the nod to implement the revised guidelines.”