The system of distributing feature films in India has changed the way films are produced. A major development is the steady growth of multiplexes—at about 700 screens out of India’s estimated total screen count of about 13,000—which is challenging traditional models of distribution while inspiring a new mindset in film production, writes Nyay Bhushan of  The Hollywood Reporter.

We are carrying a detailed report on how to distribute feature films, particularly, in the UK. Meanwhile, in an  article for Film Journal, Nyay Bhushan has summed up the issues facing Indian film producers with regards to the distribution of their films. Click the Film Journal link to read the whole article:

Bollywood billions: Indian distribution and production change with the times

India produces the largest number of movies in the world, at over 1,000 titles a year across all languages, and also accounts for the highest admissions at about 3.5 billion tickets, almost twice that of the U.S., the second-largest market at about 1.5 billion. “But we are highly under screened as compared to some of the mature markets,” notes Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, joint managing director and CEO of New Delhi-based exhibitor PVR Ltd., citing examples like China which produces “far fewer films each year and yet has 65,000 screens, while the U.S. has 36,000.”

This means that India has about 12 screens per million compared to 117 screens per million in the U.S. “We have to near the ratio of the U.S. to make up for the shortfall in the screen count,” adds Bijli, whose PVR Cinemas runs 101 screens India-wide and was the pioneer in introducing the multiplex culture there in 1997. India’s largest theatrical chain is Mumbai-based BIG Cinemas, which operates 186 screens and is owned by Reliance Big Entertainment, which recently funded DreamWorks’ exit from Paramount for $550 million.