Popular online entertainment ticket booking agency – Book My Show – is set to get a shocker with the exhibitors deciding to disassociate with it in view of the abnormal ticket prices in Telangana.
According to sources, the Telugu film industry is learnt to have observed that online booking of cinema tickets through Book My Show is causing huge burden on the audiences and this is leading to fall in the footfall at the theatres.
Till the cinema ticket pricing is settled, the film industry has reportedly asked the exhibitors to sell the cinema tickets only at the booking counters in theatres.
In the recent past, the cinema ticket rates have gone up abnormally in Telangana. The rates have gone up further taking into account the commission charged by Book My Show.
As a result, the audiences have found the cinema a costly affair and are dropping the plans to view the cinema in theatres.
This has resulted in a reduction in theatre footfall. So, the industry has felt it would be better to revert back to the old system of selling tickets at the booking counters in theatres.
If the Book My Show management comes down and reduces the percentage of commission, the exhibitors might reconsider going back to online ticketing system.
Confirming this, Sirish, the distributor for Pawan Kalyan-starrer Bheemla Nayak in the Nizam area, said the decision was taken to avoid huge burden on the audiences. For some days, the sale of tickets would be done at the counters in the theatres, he said.
Asian Cinemas’ promoter Sunil Narang admitted that the commission charged by Book My Show is as high as Rs 30. But taking into consideration the time and fuel expenses in a city like Hyderabad, this is not a big amount.
“Just imagine, a family comes to the theatre in car to buy the tickets at the counter to watch a film. If the family doesn’t get the ticket at the counter, it would be a lot of wastage of time and fuel expenses. The family can save this amount, if it buys the online ticket,” he explained.
