India’s largest film exhibition company PVR INOX Ltd. has seen a significant shift in its financial trajectory since 2021, transitioning from heavy pandemic-induced losses, to a turnaround in profitability.
Following the momentous 2023-merger of PVR and INOX, the company reported its highest-ever fourth-quarter profit for FY 2026, driven by a strong content lineup and increased food and beverage (F&B) spending by film-goers.
For the 3-month period ending March. 31, 2026, the company has reported INR 186 Cr in Net profit, its highest ever in 12 financial quarters.
Historically a weak “shoulder” quarter for cinema exhibition, Q4 FY26 delivered an unprecedented turnaround, largely rescued by the monumental box office performance of Bollywood franchise hits like Dhurandhar: The Revenge and Border 2.
Total revenue for the reporting period grew 16% from INR 5,798 Cr for FY 25 to INR 6,742 Cr while EBITDA grew a whopping 101% from INR 481 Cr to INR 968 Cr during the same period.
Editor’s Note
If one were to see the results at the surface level, it’s quite a bit of cheer for the struggling film exhibition business. Over 4,000 standalone screens have been shut since 2019 till 2025 as per market reports.
PVR-Inox commands a 25% market share in the business of cinema display through theatre screens while international operators such as Cinepolis and regional players like MovieMax and A2 Cinemas continue to scale slower than the market leaders.
From a historic high of 48.4 million admissions during Q4 FY 24, thanks to hits like Jailer, Jawan and Gadar 2, the recent financial quarter recorded just about 31 million admissions, less than 0.3% growth over the same period Q4 FY 25 when it was 30 million.
Average Ticket prices on the other hand, have grown from INR 235 during FY 2021 to INR 259 during the previous year.
Most importantly, sales of F&B has dropped from INR 556 Cr during Q2 FY 26 to INR 471 Cr, which is a reflection of the drop in admissions, though the average spend per head has grown from INR 132 to INR 165 during the same period.
Over the Top Platforms (OTT) such as Amazon’s Prime Video, JioHotstar, Zee5 are witnessing significant sign-ups everyday, which essentially is an outcome of the inability to afford consume cinema-led entertainment due to increasing costs – from parking fees to pop-corn.
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