Connplex Cinemas is an Indian company that builds and runs a network of compact, high-grade cinemas - but it does not own most of them itself. Founded in 2015 and listed in 2025, it has grown by targeting smaller cities that big multiplex chains ignored, using a franchise model where local owners pay Connplex to construct the cinema and then operate it under its brand. The recurring approach is simple: keep the cinema footprint small, keep the capital cost low, and use other people’s money to expand - that is how it reached 41 cinemas and 113 screens across nine states by March 2026.
Business segments
A single business with two inseparable halves - building cinemas for franchisees and then running them under one brand - where the construction fee and the ongoing revenue share are two steps in the same value chain.
1. Mini-multiplex exhibition: a cinema network built on other people’s capital
Connplex designs, builds and operates compact cinemas in underserved towns, earning money from ticket sales, food and advertising - but the real engine is a franchise system that gets someone else to pay for the building.
- Small footprint, fast breakeven - a typical Connplex cinema takes about 7,000 square feet with 70-75 seats per auditorium and three auditoriums, versus 30,000-40,000 square feet for a traditional multiplex, so monthly rent runs roughly ₹4 lakh instead of ₹30 lakh and the whole thing breaks even faster in a smaller city.
- Franchisees pay to build, Connplex keeps control - under both the FOFO (owner operates) and FOCO (owner invests, Connplex operates) models, the franchisee pays a project fee and Connplex handles the entire EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) process, earning a margin on the build while retaining control over real estate, finance and technology through lease-sublease structures and penalty-backed agreements.
- Central procurement, branded fit-out - chairs, air-conditioning, carpets, sound systems and curtains are bought in bulk, customised with the Connplex logo at its own facility, and shipped to franchise sites, which keeps quality consistent and costs down - projector prices have already been renegotiated lower through bulk buying.
- Revenue from every part of the visit - in FY26, 27.63 lakh people walked through the doors (up 63% year-on-year), paying an average ticket price of ₹264 and spending ₹95 per head on food and drink, while the company also collected ₹291 lakh from advertising, ₹200 lakh from online booking convenience fees, and ₹318 lakh from virtual print fee shares.
2. Franchise cinema development: the factory that feeds the network
Before a single ticket is sold, Connplex earns a project fee for designing and building the cinema - and then collects a 20% royalty on the franchisee’s food and beverage sales forever.
- The build fee comes first - franchisees pay Connplex to construct the cinema to its specifications across any of the three formats, and the company runs this as an EPC business, recording ₹6,481 lakh in franchise and cinema-making revenue in FY26.
- A 20% cut on every samosa and cola - once the cinema is running, Connplex takes a 20% royalty on the franchisee’s food and beverage revenue, which means it participates in the ongoing operations without putting up the working capital.
- Targeting towns the big players left behind - the model is built for Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets, often replacing old single-screen theatres or entering towns that had no cinema at all, so new screens do not cannibalise existing ones.
- A pipeline of 230-plus screens - the company has commitments for over 230 new screens across 18 states and union territories - from Jammu and Punjab to Telangana and Andhra Pradesh - scheduled for FY27 and FY28, which means the construction fee stream is already visible.
Group structure and partners
A founder-led company listed on the NSE SME platform, with a handful of strategic tie-ups that handle programming, ticketing and beverages - so management can focus on signing franchisees and building screens.
- Connplex Cinemas Limited (formerly VCS Industries Limited) listed on the NSE SME Platform in August 2025, raising about ₹90 crore to fund office purchase, LED screens, projectors and working capital.
- Managing Director Anish Tulshibhai Patel and Joint Managing Director Rahul Kamleshbhai Dhyani each bring over six years of entertainment-industry experience, with backgrounds spanning IT and strategic expansion through the franchise model.
- August Entertainment handles movie programming under a two-year agreement (May 2024 to May 2026), BookMyShow provides the ticketing platform, and HCCBPL supplies Coca-Cola beverages exclusively across all locations - so three operational headaches are outsourced to specialists.