Brahmastra effect? PVR, Inox Leisure shares fell up to 6%

Shares of multiplex chains PVR and Inox Leisure tumbled up to 6% in intraday trade on Friday, in sharp contrast with broader market, amid mixed reviews for newly released movie Brahmastra, starring Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt. The mixed reviews by fans and critics on social media for Brahmastra, which is touted to be the costliest Hindi film ever so far, have faded the hopes of the box office revival after recent big flops such as Laal Singh Chaddha, Raksha Bandhan, Shamshera, and Dobara.

As per reports, the Ayan Mukerji directorial, which is reportedly made on a budget of ₹410 crore, had strong advance booking and about 100,000 tickets were sold before the release amid buzz created by the fans and film pundits. The much-anticipated film, which also stars Amitabh Bachchan, Mouni Roy, Nagarjuna Akkineni and Shah Rukh Khan in a special appearance, is expected to end the dry spell of Bollywood at the box office.

However, the high-budget film, despite its famous star cast, seems to have failed to impress film critics, with famous film trade expert Taran Adarsh calling Brahmastra a “king-sized disappointment”.

“#Brahmastra is a king-sized disappointment… High on VFX, low on content [second half nosedives]… #Brahmsstra could’ve been a game changer, but, alas, it’s a missed opportunity… All gloss, no soul. #BrahmsstraReview,” Taran Adarsh tweeted.

Weighed down by disappointing initial reviews for Brahmastra, PVR share price nosedived 5.7% to hit an intraday low of ₹1,825.90 on the BSE. The stock ended day’s trade at ₹1,834.15, down 5.27% against the previous closing price of ₹1,936.10.

Similarly, Inox Leisure shares ended 5.05% lower at ₹493.85 on the BSE, after falling as much as 6.2% to ₹487.85 during the session. Earlier today, the stock opened a tad high at 524, against the previous closing price of 520.10, but soon lost momentum after fans and critics gave mixed reviews to the newly-released movie.

In comparison, the BSE benchmark Sensex closed 105 points higher at 59,793 levels, with 17 of 30 shares ending in negative terrain.

In March this year, PVR and INOX Leisure, the country’s largest multiplex chains, announced a merger to create a network of over 1,500 screens across 109 cities in India. In June this year, they received ‘no objection’ certificates from the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE) for the merger deal. The ‘no objection’ certificate is mandatory for getting approval from the National Company Law Tribunal and other regulatory approval for the proposed deal.

In a fresh development, PVR has called a meeting of its shareholders and creditors on October 11 to seek their approval for the scheme of merger with Inox Leisure. The decision was taken after the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on August 22 directed PVR to call a meeting.

"We wish to inform you that pursuant to the order pronounced on August 22, 2022, and received on September 5, 2022, meetings of equity shareholders will be held through video conferencing or other audio visual means on Tuesday, October 11, 2022, at 11:30 AM," PVR said in a BSE filing on Thursday.