Rana Daggubati says India’s low screen count is triggered by rising real estate cost

Actor Rana Daggubati, who is known for ‘Arrambam’, ‘Baahubali: The Beginning’, ‘Baby’, ‘Housefull 4’ and others, has shared his insights on the Indian entertainment industry’s eternal problem of a diminishing screen count.Rana spoke with IANS ahead of the release of ‘All We Imagine as Light’ which won the Grand Prix at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.

Rana, who is presenting the film to the audience across the country, told IANS, “India is definitely very very underscreened. In terms of the number of screens it has, 14, 000 is a very large number. India has only about 6000-8000 working screens, the rest are all diminishing in many ways. Out of which, a large part of it is in Andhra and Telangana, the areas that I live in.

He further mentioned, “But no, we just feel like it can be much more. Screens for different kinds of people, and the number of people that are around”.

He then pointed toward the axel that drives the problem of screen count: India’s real estate market.

The actor told IANS, “It would solve that problem but India’s real estate is not as cheap as the rest of the world. We have less land, and many people unlike the USA or China which have much more land mass than us. We can build many more things. So that would change. But it’s like a chicken and egg. Look at the cinemas now. Every festival we are over full”.

“And we feel like there is no space for new films. But the rest of the year as exhibitors. We just sit idle because there is no film. It’s that trick that we are falling in, I just feel like. Unless exhibitors also know that there is more cinema that they can play, different types of audience that they can reach out to, different types of marketing techniques, that they can start exploring”, he added.

‘All We Imagine as Light’ is set to arrive in cinemas in India on November 22.

Lucky Baskhar Box Office Collection: Strong on 3rd Friday

Even after 16 Days, Dulquer Salmaan’s Lucky Baskhar continues to shine at the box office, defying stiff competition from major releases like Kanguva, Matka. The film has performed exceptionally well in its third weekend, grossing over Rs1.2 crore in India on Friday alone. Despite the competition, Lucky Bhaskar has maintained steady audience engagement, particularly in key markets such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Producer Naga Vamsi is laughing all the way to the bank. The film garnered critical acclaim as well as commercial success at the Box Office which is a rare feat.

In just 16 days, the film has grossed approximately Rs 95 crore worldwide and is on track to surpass the Rs 100 crore mark by the end of its third weekend. Internationally, it has also reached a significant milestone, crossing USD 3 million, with outstanding performances in markets like the UAE and the United States.

Looking at the domestic numbers, Lucky Bhaskar has earned Rs 32 crore from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (APTS), Rs 18.75 crore from Kerala, Rs 11.5 crore from Tamil Nadu, nearly Rs 6 crore from Karnataka, and about Rs 1 crore from the rest of India. A standout achievement is the Malayalam version’s impressive contribution, accounting for around Rs 32 crore of the total earnings.

With its strong box office performance and regional success, Lucky Baskhar is set to continue its winning streak, further solidifying Dulquer Salmaan’s stature in both the Indian and international film industries.