UFO Moviez eyes 100 more cinemas in Gujarat by next fiscal - Business Standard

UFO Moviez eyes 100 more cinemas in Gujarat by next fiscalVinay Umarji / Mumbai/ Ahmedabad?December 21, 2011, 0:32 IST

Having already ramped up its digital cinema network to 195 theatres in Gujarat by December 2011, UFO Moviez India Ltd, is planning to add another 100 cinemas to its kitty in the state by next fiscal.

One of the world's largest satellite delivered digital cinema network founded by the Valuable Group, UFO Moviez India Ltd. is eyeing a 50 per cent share in the Gujarat market, with the current share being 40 per cent. "Three years ago, Gujarati films used to open in 25 to 30 centers with 25 to 30 analogue prints. Now, due to UFO’s satellite-based solutions, they open in the same number of centers with 5-7 prints resulting in substantial cost savings to the distributor/producer. Such has been the penetration in the state, that out of total 500 cinemas, we have already covered 195 cinemas. By next fiscal, we plan to add another 100 cinemas to our digital network in Gujarat," said Pankaj Jaysinh, CEO, UFO Moviez India Ltd.

Apart from digital network, a back-end software and infrastructure for IMPACT ? UFO's online computerised ticketing platform for better management and transparency, has been developed and deployed in more than 200 screens across Maharashtra and Gujarat.

The number of Gujarati films released on the UFO digital network currently stands at 60 plus while the number of UFO digital theatres playing Gujarati films is approximately 100 as of December 2011. What's more, due to the UFO digital theatre network, Gujarati films are now being exhibited outside Gujarat in a limited fashion at places like the Eastern circuit (Roxy Talkies) and Mysore (Movie Land ? Bangalore). According to Jaysinh, multiple language films (in Tamil, Malayalam, Bhojpuri, Sindhi, Marathi and Telugu, for example) are also releasing in Gujarat, providing entertainment to the diaspora in the state. Currently, UFO has a base of 2,783 digital screens (147 3D Screens), spread in 1300 cities in 28 states of India. Out of these, around 350 screens are in multiplexes (which constitutes over 30 per cent of the multiplex population in the country) and the balance are single screen theatres. So far, UFO has released more than 4600 films in 29 languages and has conducted over 8.9 million shows till date.

UFO has committed an investment of Rs 200 crore to fuel the growth and expansion plans in India of associate company Scrabble Entertainment (Pvt) Limited (in which UFO Moviez has recently acquired a controlling stake), which offers high end technology for screening Hollywood films in multiplexes. The international roll out plans of Scrabble Entertainment will entail a capex of US$ 150 million (Rs 800 crore approx.) to be funded by way of international debt and further equity infusion by UFO Moviez.

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