Carnival Cinemas was a multiplex chain based in India. It is a part of Carnival Group India, a business chain headed by Shrikant Bhasi.
Carnival Cinemas' first theatre in Angamaly was built on the top floor of a bus terminal complex. Further the company expanded to Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and eventually to the rest of India.
In 2014 Carnival Cinemas acquired HDIL's Broadway Cinema chain, which had screens across Mumbai, Delhi and Indore. In 2015, Carnival Cinemas acquired Big Cinemas by purchasing the 100% stake of Reliance MediaWorks Ltd for around â¹700 crores. Subsequently, all the Big Cinemas multiplex screens were re-branded as Carnival Cinemas by 2016. As a result of the merger, Carnival had operations in 20 states: Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Gujarat, Haryana, Delhi NCR, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh and Goa with 470 screens in 120 locations.
There were plans to double the screen count to 1000 screens by 2023.
In the late 2010s, Carnival Cinemas also expanded their branding outside India to operate a few locations across Singapore.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Carnival Cinemas was unable to continue operations in a sustainable manner and ended in debt. This has forced closure of operations in many cities and several petitions against the cinema chain for insolvency.
All Carnival Cinemas locations across India have been permanently closed https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/cfm-arc-wins-bid-for-defunct-carnival-cinemas/articleshow/115274261.cms, marking the end of the brand's operations nationwide. Several former Carnival Cinemas properties have since re-opened under new management, including chains such as INOX-PVR, MovieMax and Miraj Cinemas https://theprint.in/ani-press-releases/miraj-cinemas-flagship-property-mumbais-iconic-imax-wadala-reopens-its-doors-to-the-public/2359650/. Additionally, some venues have been taken over by developers who have relaunched them as independent, standalone cinemas under new names.
Its official website is also non-operational. However, with the same brand, Singapore's Carnival Cinemas is still open on its website i.e. www.carnivalcinemas.sg for its last remaining location at Golden Mile Tower.