Shares of PVR and Inox Leisure surged more than 8% on Monday, two days after the Maharashtra government announced that theatres in the state could reopen on October 22 in time for Diwali (November 4).
As per the Bombay Stock Exchange, following the announcement, shares of Inox Leisure soared 17.83% to hit a high of Rs 412.20 surpassing its previous high of Rs 384.10 recorded on September 22, 2020.
PVR shares, meanwhile, recorded a rise of 10% to Rs 1662 on the BSE, exceeding the previous record of Rs 1631.85 on September 22, last year.
The surge appears to be directly related to the Maharashtra government’s decision to reopen theatres after a long hiatus. Speaking to Mint, Avinash Gorakshkar, Head of Research at Profitmart Securities, confirmed this and said, “PVR and Inox shares are rising due to the Maharashtra state government’s announcement to open cinema theatres from October 22.”
Earlier in April, when the state government had declared a total weekend lockdown, the shares of Inox and PVR had dipped 8%.
The state of Maharashtra is instrumental in the entertainment sector, contributing almost 30-40% of the profits single-handedly. Though films like Akshay Kumar-starrer Bell Bottom and Kangana Ranaut‘s Thalaivii managed to attract a decent crowd across the country, several Bollywood producers were still hesitant to release their films on the big screen while theatres in the state remained shut.
The announcement from Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackrey thus came at a time when theatre owners across the country were reporting losses due to the lack of content on big screens.
Recommended
Shortly after the announcement, the release dates of several Hindi films were confirmed. Filmmaker Rohit Shetty became the first to reveal the release date of his much-awaited cop action-drama Sooryavanshi. Soon after, the release dates of Bunty Aur Babli 2, Satyameva Jayate 2, Laal Singh Chaddha, 83, Jersey, Prithviraj, Bachchan Pandey, Shamshera, and several other films were announced.
While producers have booked slots for their films till Summer 2022, it is yet to be known whether theatres in Maharashtra will be allowed to operate at 100% capacity.
On Monday, Maharashtra recorded 2,432 new Covid-19 cases, the lowest number of daily infections since early February.