Box-office collections had barely begun to see an up-tick when the fresh set of curfews were imposed in Maharashtra amid soaring COVID-19 cases. With this state imposing a night curfew, and Delhi continue to down the shutters of its cinema halls, losses are being incurred by not only film producers, but also theatre business-owners.

Manoj Desai, executive director of G7 multiplex and Maratha Mandir, says that the night curfew will impact business since late night shows were running to packed audiences. “It’s been a full house for our night shows within the permissible 50 per cent occupancy. Now we will have to stop that. A lot of viewers prefer the 9.30 pm show that ends at 12.00 midnight, but those shows have been cancelled. We don’t even have new releases, so we are airing reruns of 83, and Pushpa among others,” he says, adding that the Allu Arjun starrer’s performance has been surprisingly pleasant. “Despite releasing on OTT, the film is going strong. We have around four shows of Pushpa, all of which have attracted large crowds.” Trade analyst Taran Adarsh says that at the end of its fourth weekend, Pushpa earned Rs 80.48 cr.