Hon’ble Justice Ravi V Hosmani has granted interim relief to cinema theatre owners by putting on hold the capping of ticket prices set by the State Government of Karnataka.
In Aug. ‘25, Siddaramaiah-led Congress Government laid a rule that tickets shall cost no more than INR 200, similar to ones followed in neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
While this news brought a lot of cheer for cinema-goers last month, especially to the youth segment as well as producers of smaller budget movies, the unilateral decision of the ruling Government didn’t go well with the Theatre Owners.
Multiplex Association of India along with other petitioners such as PVR-Inox Ltd., the largest multiplex operator in India, argued in the Court of Law that the regulation was an overreach by the government. .
The industry representatives claimed that it negatively affects their ability to operate profitably.
The Hon’ble High Court has reserved further orders after hearing arguments from all sides.
Editor’s Note
The news of the Stay Order has upset scores of movie-goers, especially middle class families and youngsters, who have reduced their visits to cinema theatres since the Covid-19 pandemic by more than 80%.
The ticket price cap was introduced through amendments to the Karnataka Cinemas (Regulation) Rules, 2014.
The new rule had set a maximum ticket price of Rs 200, except for boutique and premium-format theatres with fewer than 75 seats, which can maintain their current pricing.
Affordable OTT subscriptions from JioHotstar, Amazon Prime, SunNxt, Zee5 and SonyLiv, along with a bunch of regional players have glued entertainment seekers to stick to their small screens.
The State Government had brought in the new rule ahead of the much touted Navarathri festival season that began on 22 Sep. ‘25, when a slew of films are slated to release.
Discover more from Retail Updates
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
