PVR Cinemas PVR Cinemas has its origin as Priya Cinema in
Vasant Vihar,
Delhi; the cinema hall was named after Priya Jaisinghani and was bought by
Ajay Bijli's father in 1978, who also owned a trucking business, Amritsar Transport Co. In 1988, Bijli took over the cinema hall, which was revamped in 1990. In 1995, the company was established as a 60:40 joint venture between Priya Exhibitors Private Limited and
Village Roadshow of Australia, with commercial operations starting in June 1997 as Priya Village Roadshow (PVR). In 2003, ICICI Ventures invested 40 crore in PVR when Village Roadshow decided to pull out of the partnership. In 2006, the company's shares were listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). PVR's first "Gold Screen" was launched in 2007. In 2007, PVR Cinemas ventured into film production with
PVR Pictures, producing films like
Taare Zameen Par and
Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na in its initial years. In 2012, PVR Cinemas partnered with
IMAX to open its first IMAX theatre in Bengaluru. In 2014, PVR Cinemas introduced the superplex format in
Noida. In 2016, PVR became the second movie theater chain in India to launch
4DX in the country after
Cinépolis. In 2022, PVR Cinemas introduced its
immersive theater format called ICE in
Delhi NCR.
INOX Leisure INOX Leisure or
INOX Movies was an Indian
multiplex chain based in
Mumbai. The company was incorporated as a public limited company in November 1999, as a part of the
INOX Group (Industrial Oxygen) of companies. In 2002, the company commenced its operation by opening its first four-screen multiplex at
Pune and another four-screen multiplex at
Vadodara. In 2004, multiplexes were added in
Kolkata,
Goa, and
Mumbai. In 2006, the company went public, with
Gujarat Fluorochemicals selling stake in its
initial public offering. In 2006, INOX acquired 89 Cinemas, owned by Calcutta Cinema Private Ltd (CCPL), in a
share swap deal, giving INOX ownership of nine multiplexes in
West Bengal and
Assam. INOX acquired
Satyam Cineplexes for ₹182 crore, giving it ownership of multiplexes in Delhi NCR, Mysuru and other regions. In December 2022, INOX had 170 multiplexes and 722 screens in 74 cities.
PVR–INOX merger On 27 March 2022, INOX announced it would be merging with PVR. On 12 January 2023, the Mumbai bench of the
National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved the merger of PVR and INOX. In February 2023, after the merger was completed, PVR was renamed PVR INOX. The merged entity became the fifth largest listed multiplex chain globally by screen count and the largest in India. All the new properties opened after the merger with Inox were branded as PVR Inox, while the existing properties owned by PVR and Inox before the merger continued to carry PVR and Inox branding respectively. In February 2024, the company launched India's first standalone
IMAX theatre with
4K projection by refurbishing the 86-year-old heritage
Eros Cinema in
Churchgate, Mumbai. In April 2024, the company launched its first
megaplex in South India at
Bengaluru's Phoenix Mall of Asia. == Acquisitions ==