Single Screens Face Show-Sharing Puzzle as Three Big Films Compete for Screen Time
Single-screen cinemas are grappling with how to allocate shows among Mirzapur The Movie, Hanuman Ansh and Haiwaan, as long runtimes and strong holdover business complicate scheduling.
Single-screen cinemas across India are confronting a scheduling challenge this week as they try to accommodate three films: the holdover successes Mirzapur The Movie and Hanuman Ansh, and the latest release Haiwaan. The difficulty follows last week's deadlock over show-sharing between the first two titles.
According to trade sources, the current situation is not driven by any dispute but by the exceptional performance of the holdover films. Mirzapur The Movie enjoyed a huge opening weekend and has continued to draw audiences on weekdays, while Hanuman Ansh remains steady. Advance bookings for both in multiplexes are strong, prompting theatres to want to continue playing them alongside the new arrival. However, fitting all three into the schedule has proven problematic.
The combined runtimes compound the issue. Mirzapur The Movie runs for 3 hours and 17 minutes, Hanuman Ansh for 2 hours and 30 minutes, and Haiwaan for 2 hours and 44 minutes. Dividing shows among three such lengthy films is a formidable task.
As of 2:30 pm on September 10, advance booking for any of the three films had not opened at several single-screen cinemas in Mumbai, including Plaza, Citylight, Star City, Chitra, New Excelsior, Gold Santacruz, PVR Le Reve, Regal, MovieTime Dahisar, MovieMax Andheri East, Maratha Mandir, MovieTime Suburbia and Bharatmata. Even two-screen theatres such as Mukta A2 Lalbaug and Topiwala MovieTime Malad had not finalised their plans.
Some cinemas have already made their choices. Anand Cinema in Thane will devote all shows to Mirzapur The Movie, while Nishat Cinema will screen only Haiwaan. Ajanta CineX has allocated three shows to Haiwaan and one each to Mirzapur The Movie and Hanuman Ansh. In Jaipur, the iconic Raj Mandir has scheduled Hanuman Ansh at 9:00 am, Haiwaan at 12:00 pm and 3:00 pm, and Mirzapur The Movie at 6:15 pm and 10:00 pm.
How the remaining single screens resolve their programming for the coming week remains to be seen.