Ticket prices aren't going to come down anytime soon. There was an effort in Chennai to put a cap on ticket prices, which was shot down because multiplex owners claimed that they would lose money if the cap was enforced. Given the costs of real estate, taxes, print acquisition and maintenance, I wouldn't be surprised if the business was quite low on margins for exhibitors.
Also, now that many cinema houses are branching into production, there is a tendency to marginalize other films in favour of your own. This could then result in other films just not showing long enough or often enough to make money. Toss in the affordability factor (Rs. 1000-1200 per film for a family of 4), and add in extra expenses for gas and parking, and the reluctance just grows by the minute. Sure, there's a lot of money in urban India, but the numbers just don't add up fast enough. Most of the masses avoid the multiplexes and watch movies in the standalone theatres, which are rapidly vanishing from the landscape. Plus, there's the coughpiracycough. -- Sumant Srivathsan sumants.blogspot.com
