Sizing The Cinema

An Ormax Media Report on India’s Theatrical Audience Reach

 Research Design

Sample size: 5,600 (6+ yrs.)

Period of data collection: Jan-Mar 2020

All states & UTs except J&K and Ladakh

(Urban & Rural India coverage)

Demographic proportions applied as weights for

Methodology: Computer Assisted gender, age & market, based on Census 2011 &
Telephonic Interviews (CATI) National Commission of Population 2019 report
 Executive Summary (1/2)

§ An estimated 145.7 Million (14.6 Cr) Indians watched a movie in a theatre in the calendar year 2019, i.e.,
a theatrical penetration of 10.5%

§ This universe contributed to 1030 Million footfalls in 2019, i.e., an average 7.1 films per capita per annum
(across languages)

§ Urban India contributes 31% to India’s population but 58% to the theatrical universe

§ Theatrical penetration reduces with town size, being the highest in the six metros at 37.3% and the
lowest in Rural India at only 6.5%

§ South India is easily the most-penetrated zone, at 21.8%. As a result, it contributes 44% to the theatrical
universe, more than twice its contribution to India’s population at 21%
 Executive Summary (2/2)

§ 52% male population of India contributes 61% to the theatrical universe. The contribution of males to
the Urban theatrical universe stands at 56%, vis-à-vis 67% for the Rural theatrical universe

§ Median age of a theatre-goer in India is 27.5 years. While the 15-30 yrs. age group has higher
penetration, the contribution of the 41+ yrs. age group is sizeable at 26%, because of their high (31%)
proportion in the population

§ Hindi (51%), Telugu (21%), Tamil (19%) and Hollywood (15% across languages) are the top 4 languages in
which films are watched in theatres in India

§ An average Indian theatre-goer watches films in 1.4 languages, with Kerala (1.7) and Maharashtra (1.6)
showing the highest multi-language incidence
 Theatrical Audience Universe

Sizing The Cinema

An Ormax Media Report on India’s Theatrical Audience Reach
 India’s Theatrical Audience Universe

Definition: Number of people in India who watched at least one film (any language) in a theatre
in the last one year

145.7 MM
145,733,139 14.6 Cr
 Theatrical Universe by Geography

Sizing The Cinema

An Ormax Media Report on India’s Theatrical Audience Reach
 Theatrical Universe by Pop Strata

Universe Size (MM) & Contribution % Penetration %

45

10-75 L 37
15.8 MM <10L Urban
11% 48.9 MM
34% 30
Metros
19.2 MM
13% 18 17
15

7
Rural
61.8 MM
0
42%
Metros 10-75 L <10L Urban Rural

Despite low penetration, rural India and small towns contribute to a sizeable 76% audience because of their vast population.
Contribution to BO will, however, be significantly lower because of lower ATP and viewing incidence. Also, rural audience may
often watch films in neighboring towns.
 Theatrical Universe by Pop Strata

Population (2020
Pop Strata Theatre Goers (MM) % Penetration % Contribution
Estimate* in MM)

Metros 51.5 19.2 37.3 13.2

10-75 L 90.4 15.8 17.5 10.8

<10L Urban 285.3 48.9 17.1 33.6

Rural 954.7 61.8 6.5 42.4

Total 1381.8 145.7 10.5 100.0

*Based on Census 2011 & National Commission of Population 2019 report

 Theatrical Universe by State: Summary

% Contribution to Universe Penetration (% of State Population)

PHCHP PHCHP
3.6 5.5

Delhi UP-Uttarakhand Delhi UP-Uttarakhand

2.1 10.7 24.8 6.6
Rajasthan NE Rajasthan NE
3.3 2.1 6.4 Bihar- 5.4
Bihar-
Jharkhand Jharkhand
Gujarat 3.6 Gujarat MP-Chhattisgarh 3.3
MP-Chhattisgarh
5.4 10.9 5.9
4.5
Odisha Odisha
West Bengal West Bengal
1.8 5.6
Maharashtra 5.0 Maharashtra 7.1
13.9 16.3
AP-Telangana AP-Telangana
15.5 22.7

Karnataka Karnataka
9.5 20.0

Kerala Tamil Nadu Kerala Tamil Nadu

5.1 14.0 15.3 26.3
 Theatrical Universe: South India

Population (2020 % Contribution (to

State Theatre Goers (MM) % Penetration
Estimate in MM) All India)

AP-Telangana 99.0 22.5 22.7 15.5

Tamil Nadu 78.0 20.5 26.3 14.0

Karnataka 69.4 13.9 20.0 9.5

Kerala 48.5 7.4 15.3 5.1

Total 294.9 64.3 21.8 44.1

South India contributes only 21.3% to India’s population, but its contribution to the theatrical universe is more than double of
that at 44.1%. Higher theatrical penetration (21.% vs. the national average of 10.5%), driven by higher screen penetration and a
strongly-entrenched movie-going culture, leads to this skew.
 Theatrical Universe: West India

Population (2020 % Contribution (to

State Theatre Goers (MM) % Penetration
Estimate in MM) All India)

Maharashtra* 124.7 20.3 16.3 13.9

Gujarat 71.4 7.8 10.9 5.4

Total 196.1 28.1 14.3 19.3

*Includes Goa

The two Western states have higher penetration and contribution compared to North, East & Central India. Maharashtra is the
most-penetrated theatrical state outside South India and Delhi.
 Theatrical Universe: North India

Population (2020 % Contribution (to

State Theatre Goers (MM) % Penetration
Estimate in MM) All India)

UP-Uttarakhand 237.0 15.6 6.6 10.7

Punjab-Haryana-
96.6 5.3 5.5 3.6
Himachal Pradesh

Delhi 12.5 3.1 24.8 2.1

Total 346.1 24.0 6.9 16.4

While the metro state of Delhi has the second-highest theatrical penetration in India after Tamil Nadu, the rest of North India is
particularly poor on theatrical penetration. As a result, UP-Uttarakhand contributes only 10.7% to the theatrical universe,
despite its much-higher population contribution at 17.2%.
 Theatrical Universe: East India

Population (2020 % Contribution (to

State Theatre Goers (MM) % Penetration
Estimate in MM) All India)

West Bengal 102.8 7.3 7.1 5.0

Bihar-Jharkhand 155.4 5.2 3.3 3.6

North-East 54.1 2.9 5.4 2.1

Odisha 45.0 2.5 5.6 1.8

Total 357.3 17.9 5.0 12.5

Bihar-Jharkhand emerges as the poorest in terms of theatrical penetration, with only 3 in 100 people having visited a theatre in
the last one year. Kolkata’s 26% penetration is at par with Mumbai (30%) & Delhi (25%), but significantly lower than that of the
South metros (Hyderabad 54%, Chennai 50% & Bengaluru 47%). Rest of West Bengal, however, is poor at just 6% penetration.
 Theatrical Universe: Central India

Population (2020 % Contribution (to

State Theatre Goers (MM) % Penetration
Estimate in MM) All India)

MP-Chhattisgarh 111.0 6.6 5.9 4.5

Rajasthan 76.5 4.9 6.4 3.3

Total 187.5 11.5 6.1 7.8

Central India states mirror the poor penetration levels of the Hindi heartland states. Hence, this zone contributes only 7.8% to
the universe, significantly lesser than its 13.6% population contribution.
Theatrical Universe by Film Territories

Theatre % Theatre %
Territory Territory
Goers (MM) Contribution Goers (MM) Contribution

Nizam-Andhra 28.5 19.6 East Punjab 5.3 3.6

TN-Kerala 27.9 19.1 Bihar-Jharkhand 5.2 3.6

UP (part of
15.6 10.7 Rajasthan 4.9 3.4
Delhi-UP)

Mumbai City
Mysore 11.2 7.7 3.7 2.5
(part of Mumbai)

CP Berar 9.0 6.2 CI 3.6 2.5

Gujarat (part of Delhi City (part

7.8 5.4 3.1 2.1
Mumbai) of Delhi-UP)

West Bengal 7.3 5.0 Assam 2.9 2.0

Maha. Rest (part

7.2 4.9 Orissa 2.5 1.7
of Mumbai)
 Theatrical Universe by Gender & Age

Sizing The Cinema

An Ormax Media Report on India’s Theatrical Audience Reach
 Theatrical Universe by Gender

Universe Size (MM) & Contribution % Penetration %

16

12
12

9
Males
88.2 MM Females 8
61% 57.5 MM
39%

4
Males Females

61% of theatrical universe comes from the 52% male population of the country. The contribution of males to the Urban
theatrical universe stands at 56%, vis-à-vis 67% for the Rural theatrical universe.
 Theatrical Universe by Age

Universe Size (MM) & Contribution % Penetration %

20
15-21 yrs.
35.0 MM
24% 22-30 yrs. 15
15 14
32.1 MM
22% 12

<14 yrs. 10 9
14.5 MM
10%
5
5
31-40 yrs.
26.2 MM
41+ yrs. 18%
38.0 MM 0
26% <14 yrs. 15-21 yrs. 22-30 yrs. 31-40 yrs. 41+ yrs.

Median age of a theatre-goer in India is 27.5 years. The penetration peaks in the 15-30 yrs. age group. However, the
contribution of the 41+ yrs. age group is sizeable at 26%, because of their high (31%) proportion in the population.
 Gender Proportion & Median Age by State

% Males Median Age (Years)

PHCHP PHCHP
63 26

Delhi UP-Uttarakhand Delhi UP-Uttarakhand

49 62 26 25
Rajasthan NE Rajasthan NE
54 73 22 26
Bihar- Bihar-
Jharkhand Jharkhand
65 MP-Chhattisgarh 24
Gujarat MP-Chhattisgarh Gujarat
59 65 25 28
Odisha Odisha
West Bengal West Bengal
68 28
Maharashtra 64 Maharashtra 27
52 26

AP-Telangana AP-Telangana
62 28

Karnataka Karnataka
67 28

Kerala Tamil Nadu Kerala Tamil Nadu

55 61 32 32
 Theatrical Universe by Language

Sizing The Cinema

An Ormax Media Report on India’s Theatrical Audience Reach
 Theatrical Universe (Size in MM & Contribution %)
by Language

Hindi 74.2 51%

Telugu 30.4 21%
Tamil 28.2 19%
Hollywood* 22.0 15%
Kannada 11.6 8%
Malayalam 11.2 8%
Marathi 7.2 5%
Bhojpuri 6.4 4%
Bengali 5.7 4%
Gujarati 4.6 3%
Punjabi 3.7 3%
Others 2.0 1%

0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0

Hollywood universe includes viewers of all language versions

An average Indian theatre-goer watches films in 1.4 languages, with Kerala (1.7) and Maharashtra (1.6) showing the highest
multi-language incidence.
 Theatrical Universe vs. Footfalls
Top Languages

Avg. number of films watched

Language Theatrical Universe (MM) 2019 Footfalls* (MM)
pr annum

All (Unduplicated) 145.7 1029.5 7.1

Hindi 74.2 341.1 4.6

Telugu 30.4 182.3 6.0

Tamil 28.2 193.9 6.9

Hollywood 22.0 98.4 4.5

Kannada 11.6 72.6 6.3

Malayalam 11.2 81.8 7.3

*Ormax Box Office Report 2019

Per capita average consumption in a year is higher for South languages than for Hindi or Hollywood. All other languages except
Punjabi score low on per capita consumption (<2.5 films per year), indicating that they are secondary languages of
consumption for their respective audience bases.
 Hindi Theatrical Audience by States
Base: 74.2 MM Audience

% Contribution to Hindi Universe Hindi Penetration (% of Total Theatrical

Universe of the State)

PHCHP PHCHP
5.6 80

Delhi UP-Uttarakhand Delhi UP-Uttarakhand

4.0 18.1 95 86
Rajasthan NE Rajasthan NE
6.2 3.1 94 Bihar- 79
Bihar-
Jharkhand Jharkhand
Gujarat 5.6 Gujarat MP-Chhattisgarh 79
MP-Chhattisgarh
8.7 8.3 83 94
Odisha
West Bengal West Bengal
Maharashtra 75
7.5 Maharashtra 77
Odisha
21.1 77
2.5
AP-Telangana
15.5
AP-Telangana
Karnataka Karnataka 10
3.7 20

Kerala Tamil Nadu Kerala Tamil Nadu

0.8 1.6 8 6
Hindi Theatrical Universe
by Film Territories

Hindi Hindi
% %
Territory Theatre Territory Theatre
Contribution Contribution
Goers (MM) Goers (MM)

UP (part of
13.4 17.8 East Punjab 4.2 5.7
Delhi-UP)

Gujarat (part of
6.5 8.8 Bihar-Jharkhand 4.2 5.7
Mumbai)

Maha. Rest (part Mumbai City

5.8 7.8 3.3 4.5
of Mumbai) (part of Mumbai)

Delhi City (part

CP Berar 5.6 7.5 2.9 3.9
of Delhi-UP)

West Bengal 5.6 7.5 Mysore 2.3 3.1

CI 5.0 6.7 Assam 2.3 3.1

Nizam-Andhra 4.8 6.5 Orissa 1.9 2.6

Rajasthan 4.6 6.2 TN-Kerala 1.8 2.4

 Hollywood Theatrical Audience by States
Base: 22.0 MM Audience

% Contribution to Hollywood Universe Hollywood Penetration (% of Total

Theatrical Universe of the State)

PHCHP
PHCHP 22
5.3
Delhi UP-Uttarakhand Delhi UP-Uttarakhand
5.4 7.7 38 11
Rajasthan NE Rajasthan NE
4.6 2.2 21 Bihar- 16
Bihar-
Jharkhand Jharkhand
1.6 Gujarat MP-Chhattisgarh 7
Gujarat MP-Chhattisgarh
7.0 4.1 20 14
Odisha Odisha
West Bengal West Bengal
1.1 10
Maharashtra 5.0 Maharashtra 15
21.6 23
AP-Telangana AP-Telangana
12.8 12

Karnataka Karnataka
9.7 15

Kerala Tamil Nadu Kerala Tamil Nadu

4.1 7.9 12 9
Hollywood Theatrical Universe
by Film Territories

Hollywood Hollywood
% %
Territory Theatre Territory Theatre
Contribution Contribution
Goers (MM) Goers (MM)

Nizam-Andhra 3.6 16.4 East Punjab 1.2 5.5

TN-Kerala 2.7 12.3 West Bengal 1.1 5.0

Maha. Rest (part

2.1 9.5 Rajasthan 1.0 4.5
of Mumbai)

Mysore 1.7 7.7 CP Berar 0.8 3.6

UP (part of
1.7 7.7 CI 0.8 3.6
Delhi-UP)

Mumbai City
1.6 7.3 Assam 0.5 2.3
(part of Mumbai)

Gujarat (part of
1.5 6.8 Bihar-Jharkhand 0.3 1.4
Mumbai)

Delhi City (part

1.2 5.5 Orissa 0.2 0.9
of Delhi-UP)
 Language Profile: Southern States
% Theatre Goers in Each Language

State Telugu Tamil Kannada Malayalam Hindi Hollywood

AP-Telangana 98 9 3 3 10 12

Tamil Nadu 14 96 6 14 6 9

Karnataka 21 16 69 5 20 15

Kerala 12 41 2 94 8 12

In AP-Telangana, Tamil Nadu & Kerala, the native language is the dominant language with 94%+ theatre goers watching films in
that language. However, this is not the case with Karnataka, where only 69% theatre-goers watch Kannada films. Tamil is a
strong second language in Kerala.
 Language Profile: Maharashtra
Base: 20.3 MM Audience

% of Total Theatre
Language Theatre Goers (MM) Goers in
Maharashtra
Hindi +
Marathi only
Hindi 15.7 77
2.8 MM
Hindi only (14%) Marathi only
Marathi 6.3 31 9.5 MM (47%) 2.9 MM (14%)

Hollywood 4.7 23 Hindi+

Marathi +
Telugu 2.4 12 Hindi +
Hollywood
0.5 MM (2%)
Hollywood
Marathi +
Gujarati 1.8 9 only
Hollywood only
2.9 MM
0.1 MM (1%)
(14%)
Tamil 1.2 6

Others 0.6 3
Hollywood only
1.2 MM (6%)
98% Maharashtra theatre-goers watch films in at least one
of the three languages: Hindi, Marathi & Hollywood.
 Language Profile: UP-Uttarakhand
Base: 15.6 MM Audience

% of Total Theatre
Hindi +
Language Theatre Goers (MM) Goers in UP- Bhojpuri only
Uttarakhand 2.0 MM
Hindi only (13%) Bhojpuri only
9.8 MM (63%) 2.1 MM (13%)
Hindi 13.4 86

Hindi+
Bhojpuri +
Bhojpuri 4.4 28 Hollywood
Hindi + 0.3 MM (2%)
Hollywood
Bhojpuri +
only
Hollywood 1.7 11 1.3 MM (8%)
Hollywood only
0.0 MM (0%)

While Bhojpuri language has stronger presence in Eastern

UP, the UP-Uttarakhand cluster, as a whole, is dominated Hollywood only
0.1 MM (1%)
by Hindi, with 63% Hindi-only theatre-goers.
 Language Profile: Gujarat
Base: 7.8 MM Audience

% of Total Theatre
Language Theatre Goers (MM)
Goers in Gujarat Hindi +
Gujarati only
1.9 MM
Hindi only
Hindi 6.5 83 (24%) Gujarati only
2.7 MM (35%) 0.2 MM (3%)

Gujarati 2.7 35 Hindi+

Gujarati +
Hollywood
Hollywood 1.5 20 Hindi + 0.4 MM (5%)
Hollywood
Gujarati +
only
Hollywood only
1.9 MM
Marathi 0.5 6 0.0 MM (0%)
(24%)

60% Gujarati theatre-goers are from the state of Gujarat,

while the remaining 40% hail from Maharashtra. Gujarati is Hollywood only
0.7 MM (9%)
clearly the second or third language of choice, with only 3%
exclusive audience base.
 Language Profile: West Bengal
Base: 7.3 MM Audience

% of Total Theatre
Language Theatre Goers (MM)
Goers in WB Hindi +
Bengali only
2.5 MM
Hindi only
Hindi 5.6 77 (34%) Bengali only
2.1 MM (29%) 1.5 MM (21%)

Bengali 4.4 60 Hindi+

Bengali +
Hollywood
Hollywood 1.1 15 Hindi + 0.4 MM (5%)
Hollywood
Bengali +
only
Hollywood only
0.6 MM (8%)
Others 0.1 1 0.0 MM (0%)

West Bengal emerges as a state with two strong languages

in Hindi & Bengali, which also show high duplication, with Hollywood only
0.1 MM (1%)
39% visiting theatres for films in both these languages,
compared to just 16% for Hindi & Marathi in Maharashtra.
 Language Profile: PHCHP
Base: 5.3 MM Audience

% of Total Theatre
Language Theatre Goers (MM)
Goers in PHCHP Hindi +
Punjabi only
1.3 MM
Hindi only
Hindi 4.2 80 (25%) Punjabi only
1.9 MM (36%) 0.8 MM (15%)

Punjabi 2.4 46 Hindi+

Punjabi +
Hollywood
Hollywood 1.2 22 Hindi + 0.2 MM (4%)
Hollywood
Punjabi +
only
Hollywood only
0.8 MM
Others 0.1 1 0.1 MM (2%)
(15%)

Hollywood’s prominent presence in this market is driven by

the cities of Gurgaon, Chandigarh & Faridabad. 66% of Hollywood only
0.1 MM (2%)
theatre-goers in Punjab state watch Punjabi films, but the
overall average is brought down by Haryana & HP.
 Language Profile: Bihar-Jharkhand
Base: 5.2 MM Audience

% of Total Theatre
Language Theatre Goers (MM) Goers in Bihar-
Jharkhand Hindi +
Bhojpuri only
Hindi 4.2 79 1.1 MM
Hindi only (21%) Bhojpuri only
2.6 MM (50%) 0.7 MM (13%)
Bhojpuri 2.0 38
Hindi+
Bhojpuri +
Bengali 0.7 13 Hollywood
Hindi + 0.2 MM (4%)
Bengali only
Hollywood 0.3 7 0.3 MM (6%) Bhojpuri +
Bengali only
0.0 MM (0%)
Others 0.1 1

Hollywood has marginalized presence in the Bihar- Bengali only

0.2 MM (4%)
Jharkhand market, accounting for only 7% (0.3 MM) of the
total audience. This is the only market outside South India
where Hollywood is not in the top 3 languages.
 Language Profile: Delhi
Base: 3.1 MM Audience

% of Total Theatre
Language Theatre Goers (MM)
Goers in Delhi Hindi +
Punjabi only
0.5 MM
Hindi only
Hindi 2.9 95 (16%) Punjabi only
1.4 MM (45%) 0.0 MM (0%)

Hollywood 1.2 38 Hindi+

Punjabi +
Hollywood
Punjabi 0.7 21 Hindi + 0.2 MM (6%)
Hollywood
Punjabi +
only
Hollywood only
0.8 MM
Others 0.0 1 0.0 MM (0%)
(26%)

With 95% Delhi audience watching Hindi films, there is no Hollywood only
exclusive Punjabi audience and minimal (0.2 MM) exclusive 0.2 MM (6%)
Hollywood audience in the capital city.
 @OrmaxMedia

Sizing The Cinema

An Ormax Media Report on India’s Theatrical Audience Reach
Copyright © Ormax Media Pvt. Ltd. 2020