Independence Day Weekend 2023: Highest Theatre Footfall in India | BookMyShow Report

Mumbai, Dec 19 (PTI) Millions of Indians opted for the big screen experience in 2023, said a new report by ticketing platform BookMyShow, with the Independence Day weekend witnessing the largest attendance of 10.9 million audiences in theatres across the country.

In its report, titled 'Best of 2023 - #EntertainmentOnASpree', the online platform said it sold a whopping 2.8 million movie tickets on August 13, breaking the record for the highest number of tickets sold for a single day.

"In fact, 1,648,508 cinephiles proved their love for cinemas, watching at least six movies and more this year, reflecting a commitment to watch films on the big screen, with an average frequency of at least once every two months," the report stated.

According to BookMyShow, the most popular titles of 2023 were Shah Rukh Khan-starrer "Jawan" and "Pathaan", Sunny Deol's "Gadar 2", Rajinikanth's Jailer", Ranbir Kapoor-led "Animal", Vijay's "Leo", the Mani Ratnam directorial "Ponniyan Selvan: Part 2", Salman Khan's "Tiger 3", "Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani" and "OMG 2".

The online platform also shared its report card for live events on-ground.

It said 2023 was a "momentous year" with 13.5 million people choosing to step out for live events.

"Unwilling to compromise, Indians have chosen premium live entertainment and elevated their experience this year with an impressive growth of 82 per cent over last year for specially crafted international live events, accompanied by a 2.3x growth in BookMyShow Live's enthusiastic consumer cohort of premium event-goers.

"Truly, it was #EntertainmentOnASpree in 2023 when Indians were ready to live it up by themselves for live events, time and time again as over 949,455 live entertainment enthusiasts had a ball of a time going for events solo," the report said.

It added that live events are now a popular feature on travellers' itineraries, boosting tourism for host cities as well as becoming a mainstay in travel plans of Indian audiences.

"In 2023, 411,002 live entertainment enthusiasts travelled all the way outside of their home cities for experiences that they did not want to miss out on. While the top metros continued to brim with energy, it was the Tier II towns of Lucknow, Bhubaneswar and Nagpur amongst others that showcased 'Top Tier' energy for live event experiences, marking an extraordinary growth of 225 per cent in ticket sales from last year," the report mentioned.