New Delhi: Multiplex chain INOX Leisure Ltd has launched its biggest offering till date, Megaplex, an 11-screen theatre in Mumbai’s Inorbit Mall, Malad. Built over 60,000 square feet with a total capacity of 1,586 seats and the capability to screen 60 shows and host an audience size of 6,000 daily, INOX said it is Mumbai’s biggest multiplex offering till date with an investment of Rs. 50-60 crore.

“Our typical screen count ranges between four to five and we’ve gone up to nine at the R City Mall in Mumbai. But this is quite an increase over that as well and the idea is to make movie watching experiential and engage with our audiences as much as possible," said Siddharth Jain, director, INOX Group.

Megaplex will offer six movie viewing formats—INSIGNIA, INOX’s 7-star luxury experience, Kiddles, the format for kids, ScreenX with multi-projection technology, MX4D with an advanced immersive environment, IMAX with a 40% larger image, a dual projection system and high quality 3D, Samsung Onyx LED and Dolby ATMOS sound and laser projection in the mainstream auditoriums. Ticket prices will range from ₹150-1,000 with options for all segments of the audience, Jain said.

The 11 screens will be accompanied by an exhaustive menu and a video wall in the central lobby along with a dedicated corner for pop-up events and engagements.

The idea behind opening the company’s biggest offering in Mumbai was to capture the heart of Bollywood, Jain said. Given that the entire movie industry resides in the city, it is possible for filmmakers to come and experience the various viewing formats available and the opportunities they can utilize to create cutting-edge content. For example, Yash Raj Films’ recent blockbuster action thriller War has been made in 4DX.

The launch of Megaplex is an extremely important and strategic business milestone for INOX as it paves the way for more such large-format, experience-drive entertainment destinations, Alok Tandon, chief executive officer at Inox Leisure Ltd, said in a statement.

The recent surge in video streaming platforms has clearly not impacted India’s exhibition plans. According to an earlier Mint report, operators plan to add as many as 7,000 screens over the next 10 years, many of them in smaller towns, to cover about 70% of the country, according to exhibition industry experts. India’s multiplex screen count is around 3,000, with an average of about five-six screens per theatre.

“India has the lowest screen penetration and the highest movie viewing population in the world with about 2.5 billion tickets sold annually," Jain said to point out that there is much brewing on the demand side of things. “In the West too, the growth of theatrical, satellite and OTT (over-the-top streaming platforms) has been simultaneous. There are films that people watch multiple times, in the theatre and again at home and there are films that they discover entirely on television. So there is enough for everyone to chew on. As far as some players offering a digital premiere of films on the same day as theatrical release goes, I think they are referring to the content they will produce themselves. Right now, there is a global window in place between digital or satellite premiere and the theatrical release of films."

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