SPI Cinemas

Coordinates: 13°03′23″N 80°15′33″E / 13.056355°N 80.259151°E

SPI Cinemas
Private
Industry Entertainment
Founded April 1974
Headquarters Royapettah, Chennai, India
Number of locations
 9
Area served
Key people
  • Kiran Reddy (MD)
  • Tan Ngaronga (COO)
Parent SPI Group Private Ltd.
Website spicinemas.in

SPI Cinemas is an Indian multiplex chain and film production company owned by the SPI Group, headquartered in Chennai. It operates multiplexes in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Originally called Sathyam Cinemas, it was later renamed SPI Cinemas as it introduced several other multiplexes. SPI has often been lauded for its premium quality and inexpensive pricing.[1][2] Its theatres, primarily Sathyam Cinemas, are often used by filmmakers for movie premieres and audio launch events.[3]

SPI is notable for being the first mutiplex operator in India to equip its screens with the Dolby Atmos and Auro 11.1 sound systems.[4][5] SPI has also introduced the first IMAX screen in Chennai with its Luxe Cinemas brand.[6]

History

Sathyam Cinemas was originally named the "Royal Theatre Complex" and was built by Raja from Venkatagiri in April 1974.[7][8] With a capacity of 1,255 seats, it was the largest multiplex built in Chennai at the time.[9]

Kiran Reddy, the current CEO of SPI Group, revealed in a 2012 interview with The Hindu that Sathyam Cinemas was acquired by his family "from someone" in the 1980s. It was acquired for real estate purposes with no intention of continuing the theater business. He claimed, "The intent was to demolish the Sathyam building. The theatre wasn't a viable business if you looked at the value of the land." However, when he got involved in the business, the family had made several improvements to the theater.[10] Reddy had taken over the business in 1999 and continued developing the theater, adding three more screens and refurbishing the existing three.[11]

In 2009, Sathyam Cinemas established itself as a film production company, producing its first film, Thiru Thiru Thuru Thuru.[12]

Locations

State/Territory City Theater Name Theater Locality Number of Screens
Tamil Nadu Chennai Sathyam Cinemas Royapettah 06
Escape Cinemas[13] Express Avenue, Royapettah 08
S2 Perambur Spectrum Mall, Perambur 05
S2 Theyagaraja Old Theyagaraja Talkies, Thiruvanmiyur 02
Luxe Cinemas Phoenix Market City, Velachery 11 (including one IMAX)
Palazzo Cinemas (Opening Soon) The Forum Vijaya, Vadapalani 09 (including one IMAX)
Coimbatore TheCinema[14] Brookefields Mall, Krishnaswamy Road 06
Tirupur SPI Cinemas (Opening Soon) Velan Espalande Mall 06
Andhra Pradesh Nellore S2 Nellore Old Raghava Cineplex, Pogathota 03

References

  1. ↑ "Hollywood praise for Sathyam Cinemas!". Behindwoods. 31 October 2012.
  2. ↑ Naveena Vijayan (15 April 2014). "Luxe Takes Movie Experience Beyond the Conventional". The New Indian Express.
  3. ↑ Lata Srinivasan (1 November 2012). "Ang Lee praises Sathyam Cinemas". The Times of India.
  4. ↑ Aaron Almeida (5 December 2012). "Dolby launches its Dolby Atmos audio platform in India". Firstpost.
  5. ↑ Bill Mead (25 November 2013). "Technology in review: Asia embraces digital, 3D and immersive sound". Film Journal International.
  6. ↑ Karthik Subramanian (29 March 2014). "Multiplex gets nod at Velachery Phoenix mall". The Hindu.
  7. ↑ N. Ramakrishnan (27 December 2013). "Chennai has a big role to play". Business Line.
  8. ↑ "Sathyam Cinemas Selects Qube for All Screens of Its Flagship Multiplex at Chennai, India". Business Wire. 27 June 2007.
  9. ↑ Nitya Menon (27 November 2013). "The changing scene". The Hindu.
  10. ↑ Shonali Muthalaly (23 February 2012). "Reddy Made In Chennai". The Hindu.
  11. ↑ Sreedhar Pillai (15 December 2006). "And now, the multiplex mania". The Hindu.
  12. ↑ Shalini Shah (7 August 2009). "A first for Sathyam". The Hindu.
  13. ↑ Prince Frederick (18 June 2013). "Let the show begin". The Hindu.
  14. ↑ V. S. Palaniappan (6 December 2011). "The Cinema @ Brookefields opens tomorrow". The Hindu.

External Links