Kolkata: At a time when Bengal’s leading stars are speaking about taking regional cinema to greater heights, the ground reality tells a different story. Lack of fresh releases and a sharp decline in audience turnout have forced two popular single screen theatres in Kolkata to suspend operations. While Binodini Theatre, formerly known as Star Theatre, has remained closed since Tuesday, South Kolkata’s Priya Cinema has followed suit from Wednesday. Absence of new Bengali films and poor footfall has left the owners with no other choice.
This comes despite the state government’s directive in place since August 2025, mandating that all cinema halls and multiplexes in Bengal screen at least one Bengali film during prime time between 3 pm and 9 pm throughout the year.
The halls were screening ‘Mon Maneey Na’, which marked the debut of Saswata Chatterjee’s daughter Hiya, along with Khancha, but both struggled at the box office, making it financially difficult to continue shows. Even the big budget Hindi film ‘O Romeo’, starring Shahid Kapoor has not managed to pull crowds at Priya Cinema.
Theatre owners point to additional factors behind the slump. With board exams ongoing, and Assembly elections coming up, producers and directors are hesitant to release major projects.
On the other hand, the prime time preference for Bengali films has led some Hindi film distributors to limit their supply to certain halls, a situation that has particularly impacted single screen theatres. There is cautious optimism that the release of new films this Friday could help revive footfall.