WAVES 2025 | Limited number of cinema screens restricting Bollywood's potential: Aamir Khan

Bollywood actor Aamir Khan who has taken a hiatus from films said there are a limited number of screens in India, which is one of the reasons why Bollywood films are underperforming at the box office. During the panel discussion titled 'Studios of the Future' at the World Audio Video and Entertainment Summit (WAVES 2025), which included industry leaders such as Namit Malhotra, Dinesh Vijan, Ajay Bijli, Ritesh Sidhwani, and Charles Roven, Aamir shared his views on why Bollywood films have been struggling to reach their full box-office potential.

According to IANS, the actor said only two per cent of India’s population has access to major blockbusters in theatres, stressing the need for more screens to cater to the vast, untapped audience in rural areas.

Aamir emphasised the stark difference in screens between India and other premier filmmaking countries like the US and China. “I have always believed that we have very few theatres for the size of our country and the number of people living in India. In India, we have around 10,000 screens, and in the US, which is one-third of our population, they have 40,000 screens and China has 90,000 screens. And even in this 10,000, half are in the South (South India) and the other half in the rest of the country," he said, as reported by IANS.

Aamir elaborated that, typically, a Hindi film is released on around 5,000 screens. The 60-year-old actor pointed out that even the biggest hits in Indian cinema, over the years, have only managed to attract around 3 crore viewers, which accounts for roughly 2% of the country’s population. In a nation known for its love of cinema, he expressed concern that only a small fraction of the population watches the top films in theatres. Aamir questioned where the remaining 98% of viewers are watching these films, highlighting the significant gap in theatre access.

“My belief has always been that we need to have a lot more theatres in India. There are so many vast districts in India that don’t have a single theatre for people to watch films. So I feel that one of the biggest issues that we have faced over decades is that we just don’t have enough screens,” said Aamir.

Aamir Khan took part in Day 2 of the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) 2025 on May 2, where he joined as a speaker to address a pressing issue in the industry—the shortage of cinema theatres across India.