BookMyShow traffic surges to 76% of pre-Covid levels

Online ticketing platform BookMyShow has witnessed a significant growth in user engagement, traffic and transactions almost nearing pre-Covid levels on the platform, it said.

The growth was recorded within the first ten days of cinemas opening up with the latest line-up of movie releases including Rohit Shetty-directed cop thriller Sooryavanshi, Superstar Rajnikanth’s Annaatthe, Marvel’s Eternals and Dulquer Salmaan starrer Kurup.

Within the first ten days of movies releasing pan-India, daily consumer traffic surged to reach 76 per cent of pre-covid levels on an average while user engagement has been steadily growing, surpassing 66 per cent of pre-covid levels on BookMyShow. Consumers from Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Ahmedabad have been quickest to return back to the movies contributing 48 per cent of the traffic recovery.

“The surge in traffic has also provided a fillip to the business with transactions for Sooryavanshi, Annaatthe, Eternals and Kurup skyrocketing towards a complete recovery,” it said.

Sooryavanshi has crossed 2.6 million tickets sold within the first week while Annaatthe (Tamil) crossed 1.3 million tickets sold on BookMyShow becoming the first movie to hit the million mark on the platform after the second Unlock in 2021. Kurup clocked a stellar 800,000 plus tickets sold within the first weekend itself.

“BookMyShow contributed over 40 per cent of Sooryavanshi’s box office collections in India for the opening weekend with the movie hitting a peak of 21 tickets sold per second on Nov 6th becoming the highest ever peak for a Hindi movie on the platform,” it said.

The platform also clocked a 52 per cent contribution for Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Eternals’ box office collections in India with the movie crossing 700,000 tickets sold across languages and versions in 3D, IMAX and 4DX across cities in India, it added.

Cinema is Back campaign
The surge in traffic and recovery has driven by BookMyShow’s six-month longcampaign ‘#CinemaIsBack’ rolled out across digital and social media platforms.

“Conceptualised and executed by BookMyShow’s in-house team, the campaign aims to target entertainment-lovers across age groups, geographic restrictions notwithstanding and social setups through various social media platforms, with the spotlight on the all-new out-of-home movie entertainment experience – different but not a shred less than earlier,” it said.

The campaign also emphasised the importance of health and safety measures, putting safety at the centre.

The campaign is a “visual, socially engaging and meme-based series” executed on digital and social media platforms. It will be amplified across BookMyShow’s customer base and potential new audiences both on the platform’s mobile app and website through mailers, push notifications along with social media platforms and also digital media.

The content is meant to invoke the memory of watching their favourite movies on the big screen.

Additionally, as a part of the larger campaign, BookMyShow will onboard upto 300 “brand advocates” to highlight the safety measures being undertaken at the cinemas and the experience of going back to theatres.

Vamsi Murthy, Head – Marketing, BookMyShow said, “We are thrilled to launch our latest campaign #CinemaIsBack as the country gears up to witness the magic of big screens once again. With cinemas opening in India coupled with an exciting line up of big budget movies that have started to hit the screens from Diwali and for the next 6 months, we are excited to deliver and communicate an authentic, nostalgic and irreplaceable experience through the #CinemaIsBack campaign.”

“The success of the campaign within the first 10 days itself has been phenomenal, setting the wheels of the business in motion with a tremendous surge in traffic, user engagement and ticket sales. Over the next few months, we look forward to welcoming film enthusiasts and cinephiles #BackToTheatres for a safe entertainment experience through this festive season and beyond. We are confident that the stage has been set, for a long-awaited revival of the cinema business in India with all the standard safety protocols in place,” added Murthy. The Hindu BusinessLine