Cinema industry facing a severe crisis: 67 out of 186 cinemas across country closed in past 7 years due to lack of films

KARACHI: Like other sectors in the country, the cinema industry is also facing a severe crisis.

In the last 7 years, 67 out of 186 cinemas and screens have been closed due to the lack of films available for screening in cinemas. They include 8 cinemas and screens in Karachi alone.

After the masterpiece film ‘The Legend of Maula Jat’ released in 2022, no successful film has been released in the country. The lack of story in the films, substandard production and the lack of modern technology have kept moviegoers away from cinemas.

Increasing multiplex ticket prices have further added the destruction of the cinema industry. Due to the lack of moviegoers in cinemas, 67 cinemas and screens have been closed in the last 7 years, including 30 cinemas and screens in Lahore, while 15 cinemas and screens in Karachi and Hyderabad have also been closed due to unavailability of films and lack of film tickets.

Pakistan Film Producers Association Chairman Shahzad Qureshi has said that poor people make cinema successful all over the world, but in our country, entertainment for the poor has been eliminated. How can a poor person buy a ticket for Rs2,000 and go to the cinema to watch a movie? Cinema tickets should not cost more than Rs250.

The federal government has given cinema the status of an industry, but so far they have not been able to get electricity at industrial tariffs. Rising costs are the reason for the increase in cinema tickets. The film policy formulated by the federal government to revive the cinema industry has not been implemented.

The grant announced for new film producers has not been provided. Applications have been submitted by 117 young filmmakers, but funding is not being released. The Punjab government has promised to formulate a film policy after Eid and issue grants for film producers. Hopefully, this will lead to an improvement.

Film distributor Nadeem Mandviwala says economic pressure and lack of good content are the major reasons for the demise of the cinema industry. The 2019 ban on Bollywood films emptied cinema halls, while multiplexes increased ticket prices to Rs2,000, which is unaffordable for the average Pakistani. Films like ‘The Legend of Maula Jat’ have raised hopes, but the cinema has not yet been able to overcome the difficulties.