PVR INOX banks on good movie releases, OTT fatigue for profitability: MD Ajay Bijli

New Delhi: Cinema exhibitor PVR INOX is looking to build on the momentum of a strong first quarter, tapping new good movie releases and consumer fatigue with OTT as it seeks to return to profitability, according to its Managing Director Ajay Bijli.

Having recorded a 12 per cent year-on-year growth in people visiting the company's cinemas at 3.4 crore in the first quarter of this fiscal, despite a subdued April, the business has bounced back, Bijli told PTI.

"We are obviously very happy that business has bounced back. We've always been very confident about the fact that Indian consumers will always consider going out and watching movies on the big screen as the number one form of entertainment," he noted.

Watching movies on the big screen will coexist with all the other formats of consuming content, Bijli added.

Asked when the company expects to be in the black, Bijli said, "Normally, I don't give any guidance...but all I can say is that the momentum is there, and all the movies that are coming up are in the public domain".

July has started very well with movies, such as Saiyaara, Superman, Jurassic Park: Rebirth, F1 Fantastic Four: First Steps and Mahavtar Narsimha, he said, adding that two big movies -- Rajinikanth-starrer Coolie and War 2, which is a strong franchise, are already lined up for August 14 release.

"People already know that there's a huge August 15 weekend...So, the lineup at least gives us the confidence and people's behaviour to come out, (after) getting a little bit of fatigue factor from OTT -- it is giving us an indication that occupancies will only improve from here on," Bijli said without sharing guidance on the timelines for profitability.

In the first quarter of 2025-26, PVR INOX reported a narrowing of consolidated loss after tax to Rs 54.5 crore, mainly due to good content movies driving up footfall and revenue growth.

It had posted a consolidated loss after tax of Rs 179 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding fiscal.

Its consolidated revenue from operations in the first quarter stood at Rs 1,469.1 crore compared to Rs 1,190.7 crore in the year-ago period.

"What we need to do is make sure that we are delivering a great offering to the consumer when they come out, and just rely on the content makers to continue to make movies which connect with the audience," Bijli said.