PVR INOX ad income up 4.3% as ticket prices rise 14%
PVR INOX advertisement income was Rs 131 crore in Q2 FY27, up 4.3 per cent, while total income rose 17.3 per cent. Footfall, which cinema ad rates are priced against, rose 4 per cent.
- Open a rate conversation before committing cinema spend in Q3, because advertisement income grew 4.3 per cent while PVR INOX total income grew 17.3 per cent.
- Price cinema against admissions rather than against chain revenue, since footfall rose 4 per cent while average ticket price rose 14 per cent.
- Ask PVR INOX how sleeper-hit inventory would be priced under the digital pay per eyeball plan Gautam Dutta described, which he put roughly eight to 10 months out.
- Treat the 1.3 per cent first-half growth as the fuller picture and wait for Q3 numbers before calling a direction in cinema advertising rates.
Storyboard18 reported on 29 October that PVR INOX recorded advertisement income of Rs 131 crore in Q2 FY27, against Rs 125.6 crore in the same quarter a year earlier. That is 4.3 per cent growth. For the first half of FY27, advertisement income was Rs 238.3 crore against Rs 235.2 crore, up 1.3 per cent.
The rest of the business moved faster. Total income was Rs 2,132.7 crore, up 17.3 per cent from Rs 1,818.7 crore. EBITDA was Rs 475.2 crore, up 44 per cent. Storyboard18 labels both of those figures Ind AS 116 adjusted, which matters if you are comparing them with another chain. Profit after tax from continuing operations was Rs 273.3 crore, up 111 per cent.
The per-seat figures carry most of that. Average ticket price was Rs 298, up 14 per cent. Average food and beverage spend per head was Rs 153, also up 14 per cent. Admissions were 4.63 crore, up 4 per cent. Occupancy was 30.4 per cent against 28.7 per cent. The chain had 1,797 screens across 114 cities in India and Sri Lanka as of 30 September 2026.
Gautam Dutta, CEO, Revenue and Operations at PVR INOX, said: “We are planning to do a digital version of pay per eyeball plan, which will help us to monetize the sleeper hits”. He put the timeline at roughly eight to 10 months. Storyboard18 separately reports that Kamal Gianchandani, CEO of PVR INOX, pointed to the absence of major blockbuster releases in the first half as a factor in advertising performance. That is the publication’s account of his remarks rather than a quote from him.
Here is the part to take into a buying conversation. Cinema advertising inventory is priced against footfall, and footfall rose 4 per cent. Advertisement income rose 4.3 per cent, broadly in line with it. Ticket price and food spend per head each rose 14 per cent. The chain is taking more from every occupied seat, while the rate card attached to those same seats tracked volume alone.
One quarter does not settle the question. Subtract the quarter from the half year and the first quarter implies Rs 107.3 crore against Rs 109.6 crore, a small decline, so the June quarter was weaker than this one. Dutta expects a stronger film slate in the second half. Even so, a brand pricing cinema for Q3 has the gap between 4.3 per cent and 17.3 per cent to put on the table.
Zane’s analysis draws on original reporting by Storyboard18. Read the original report.