Starting India’s First Open Air Cinema
This is all about trying to start India’s First Open Air Cinema! It covers the story behind why I want to do what I want to do and how I think we could do it together. This piece has a casual & analytical tone to it and is best read on a big screen.
The Story
Hi,
I’m Karan :)
For this story, which I will be building on gradually, all you need to know about me is that..
I love ‘cinema’ & trying to ‘build something from nothing!’
As I loved ‘film’ and lived in ‘London’, I wanted to completely experience and engage in every possible opportunity that intertwined the two that the city had to throw at me.
So, I got a job at an Open Air Cinema that beautifully amalgamated the best of both, London and Cinema!
And I worked there for 3 joyous summers, doing all the oddest jobs possible!
What did I do at the Open Air Cinema?
Well, back then I wanted to establish a work ethic and was ready to just about anything as long as I learned, grew and gained some experience whilst studying Engineering and Finance at University College London!
So, as people entered to watch a film at Kensington Palace Gardens (royal residence in Hyde Park), I tried to charm them into buying my Surrey cider.
I picked up trash at the end of the evening at the roof top cinema at One New Change, which overlooked St.Paul’s Cathedral.
I even worked the bar at lidos, which was weirdly for every venue not anywhere facing the screen.
This lead me to frustratingly listen to 'Jaws' and 'Notting Hill' on the job and then I’d run home to watch the film on Popcorn Time early into the morning! But I loved every second of it!
This was complemented with regular trips with friends/more often alone to the cinema. I loved how special they made you feel at an Everyman (an independent cinema) and how every film I saw there was a cherish-able memory.
One of my highlights has to be watching movies cheap at Empire Haymarket on a Friday night and strolling to sit and stare at the Piccadilly Lights post it. I think it is established that I am a big move buff!
WHY DO I WANT TO START AN OPEN AIR CINEMA IN INDIA?
- I really miss home (Bombay, India). Whenever I go home, I get bored to bits after I see all my loved ones and friends. So I want to find another reason to go back to India more often!
- India doesn’t have open air cinemas!
India’s Cinema viewing experience is limited. Whenever I went home, watching cinema felt so ordinary and everyday. It was much cheaper, (like mostly everything relative to London off-course) but it wasn’t special. It failed to engender the feelings and expressions I saw on the faces of people during an Open Air Cinema or Everyman experience. It wasn’t top of the list to take a date to for a pleasant evening or to spend quality time with your family where you could get together and completely enjoy. Why was this?
- Time Rushed & Fully Booked Cinemas → The ticket prices were really low (which is great as it increased accessibility) but the cinemas were always overflowing and you would just get in, watch and get out.
- No Exclusive Trailers & Restricted Food/Drink Choice + Accessibility → The lines for food/drink, the selection of which was restrictive, would be so long that you would just shun it because the interval time was so short (Note, unlike London, there is no 30 min trailer viewing period before the film).
- Limited Selection with No Indie/Past Blockbusters/Classics Screened → The movies shown, were also only the latest and only select English films were shown, that too for a short period.
Now, this got me thinking, wouldn’t it be cool if I could start an open air cinema in India? I could apply all that I learn in London and try to get the pure joy I felt here, into cinema experience back home!
Starting an open air cinema
The Vision
An open air iconic location in Mumbai, India where we can get together people who love cinema and are looking for a relaxing, pleasant and enjoyable experience. 2 movies (preferably 1 Hindi and 1 English) will be shown back to back over the length of an evening with 30 minute intermissions (filled with live acoustic music). There will be lounge & beach chairs, and blow up back rests available to get comfy in with blankets and pillows. There will be unlimited popcorn, coke and cutting chai to complement your evening. There will be veg and non-veg starters coupled with beer available to order. Wireless headphones will also be available to order and can let one indulge in uninterrupted movie viewing.
How are we going to do this?
So I’m going to try to keep this really simple! For the initial stage, we have:
- A main Hypothesis, which is assumption of the end goal or a vision
- Conditions, which influence this hypothesis
- Data, which is the true information we collect about every single condition and accordingly validate and refine our hypothesis.
Process → Collect Data, Analyse, Synthesize and Improve, Build! Repeat!
Hypothesis: We can have a bespoke open air cinema in Mumbai in winter 2018.
Conditions to be Fulfilled:
ONE: We secure a favorable Open Air Location - Essential that it is ‘iconic’ and ideally sea facing.
- Decor and Entertainment, in terms of making the experience at the location comfortable and enjoyable to come to.
Location Estimate → Rs. 50 k or £550
Location Decor and Entertainment Estimate → Rs. 50 k or £550
TWO: We get Licenses + Permissions for the followingDrinks — Alcohol (Location Dependent)
- Unlimited Cutting Chai (Indian Tea made by a chaiwalla — the chai making man) & Coke.
- English pub culture has got to me and beers at a minimum are a definite.
Drinks Cost Estimate → Rs. 40 k or £440
Food — Starters (Location Dependent)
- Unlimited Popcorn (Off course! Caramel, Salted & Cheese)
- Veg & Non-Veg Starters (Available to order)
- Marshmallows and Strawberry with Chocolate (Available to order)
Food Cost Estimate → Rs. 20 k or £330
Film: Sound + Visuals
- On Site Broadcast (Location Dependent)
- Copyright/Permission to show the specific film! (2 films will be shown back to back → talk about value for your money and ticking that off the bucket list)
All Licenses Cost Estimate → Rs. 50k or £330
THREE: We secure the best possible quality audio and visuals equipmentEquipment Rent Estimate → Rs. 50 k or £550
FOUR: There is a customer demand for this & there exists channels to reach those customers.Cost of Customer Acquisition, Brand Image (Website) & Online Presence Estimate → Rs. 50 k or £550
FIVE: There are Multiple Revenue Streams possibleHedging is essential in this scenario and I have always been one to look for maximum gains whilst providing maximum value but ensuring we minimize risk/exposure as much as possible. This has come from my fantasy social trading experience, where I found that it is very much possible to achieve similar gains with distributed risk to ensure that exposure to downside and potential for upside is not completed dependent on just one source (Like just assets in one asset class). In this scenario, I would like to not be 100% dependent on purely ticket sales revenue.
What do the numbers say?
A ballpark estimate of the Outgoing Financials total to Rs. 3.30 lakhs or £3,380.(1 lakh = 1 x 10⁵)
Now, most logically made estimates are generally off by a certain percentage. Considering how first time popups are run, the following cushion will be added using the overall outgoings as a base:
- Currency Exposure → GBP to INR → ± 4%
- Overboard on Food and Drink → ±6%
- Overboard on Decor → ±5%
- Additional errors like underestimating licensing or location fees → ±5%
Total added cushion to adjust the estimates = ±20%
Adjusted Financial Outgoings
- Worst Case Scenario → Rs. 3.96 lakhs
- Best Case Scenario → Rs. 2.64 lakhs
For Incoming Financials, I just want to understand where I would stand in the adjusted worst case scenario. That is if ticket sales were to be the only source of revenue. Events of this pop up nature, usually have multiple ticket releases. The intention of which is to gather interest and secure a certain threshold of ticket sales at a lower price point from early adopters and then to gradually increase price closer to the event. So I have assumed that we should expect a maximum audience of 500 people and that the ticket purchase options split between ‘individual’ and ‘couple’ (Any gender combination of 2 people) would be 50%. With 3 rounds of ticket releases in the time leading up to the pop-up with the earlier you book the cheaper it is, the incoming financials look as follows:
First Release → 100 tickets → Rs. 1.25 Lakhs
- Individual → Rs. 1k
- Couple → Rs. 1.5k
Second Release → 300 tickets → Rs. 5.25 Lakhs
- Individual → Rs. 1.5k
- Couple → Rs. 2k
Third Release → 100 tickets → Rs. 2.25 Lakhs
- Individual → Rs. 2k
- Couple → Rs. 2.5k
The above ticket releases total to an incoming of Rs. 8.75 lakhs. As ticket sales are so hard to predict, I will assume that I sell just 50% of the above releases.
The adjusted worst case incoming financials scenario is Rs. 4.37 lakhs.
Initial Rough Financial Back of the Tissue Calculation:
Potential Worst Case Upside = Worst Case Scenario Incoming MINUS Worst Case Scenario Outgoing
Potential Worst Case Upside =Rs. 4.37 lakhs MINUS Rs. 3.72 lakhs = Rs. 65.5k → A 17.6% Return on Investment.
Note that 50% of any profit will go to the charities associated with my art organisation, The Bombay Cutting. These charities help foster a homely environment for underprivileged children where they can be creative and gain a basic education.
Sound, so this says that even if we do really badly we still get some return on investment. However, the intention is to do bloody well! The above is justify proceeding with this crazy idea!
How can we do bloody well?
Firstly, I will expend all energy towards generating maximum interest and confirmed goings to this pop up event, before spending any money whatsoever.
Secondly, I want this to be a bespoke affair and experience. So I will be personally messaging people in Mumbai telling them about this. And I will extend this event to their friends and friends of their friends and doing this only through direct messaging. Then post that I will open it up to the public. I reckon that I will be able to sell all the tickets for the pop-up without any public promotion and just organically.
Thirdly, still figuring out ‘thirdly’ and beyond!
So I really want to do this, but I want you all to be part of it! I want to hear your thoughts, your ideas, your reservations. I want you to get in touch if you would like to help or get involved.
Why am I open sourcing this?
They say if you want to do something, the whole world conspires to help you do that. That is something I would like to see happen, So lets see world!
I have never built an Open Air Cinema before! So Obviously, I don’t know how to! But, YOLO (You only live once), let’s try to figure this out together!
I want to make progress and developments public → This will make me accountable to not bow out. And If I fail, I fail in front of you, and you will know why. And when we do this, that’ll be killa, right? (in true Bombay Slang)
Who am I looking for to join me?
Characteristic Requirements
- Independent Thinkers
- Decisive
Essential Requirements
- Willing to Learn, Do and Improve
- Loves Cinema
- Lives in Bombay
This is Cool, I want to steal it!
Well, please do! Go ahead.. India is huge and people there are very welcome to new experiences! The outdoor cinema market worldwide has shown that many open air cinemas can exists competitively, so much so that there are companies around the world but not in India, that can help you set up one!
Though, I can’t not see this come to life! I would really like to see a full fledged open air cinema company in India, no matter who does it!
Please fill this, if you want to keep track of updates/tell me I’m a fool/ steal this/would really like to see an open air cinema in India.
