Movie halls have always been the go-to option for a common man when he’s thinking about going out with family, friends, colleagues, or relatives. Well, why not? Watching a new film with popcorn, beverages, and various other food items while sitting on comfortable double padded seats is almost every individual’s favorite thing to do. Basically, watching the same movie at a theater rather than home are altogether two different experiences. The huge movie projector and several best quality speakers surrounded with soundproof curtains create an incredible atmosphere. 

Pandemic had a devastating impact on the movie theaters as well. To curb the spread of the life-taking virus, it was essential to shut down movie theatres till the situation gets normal. As a result of which, the year 2020 became disastrous for the movie halls in terms of revenue. Slowly and steadily theaters are opening up throughout the world while taking special measures for social distancing. As soon as the virus leaves our lives completely,  big gatherings are expected at the cinemas just like in the pre-covid era.

As the crime world is growing at a rapid pace, movie theaters are also required to step up their security game. In fact, there is hardly anyone buying a ticket by physically going to the cinema, it is getting practically impossible for the authorities to know who exactly is coming to watch the film at their premises. With digital advancements, every other individual is using e-platforms in order to buy tickets for a movie. In spite of the great advantages these e-booking sites and apps provide, the chances of fraud also increase with it.

Absence of KYC process for booking tickets can cause the following concerns;

• Safety & Security: Bad guys are not just limited to financial institutions anymore. They have become a threat to each and every business and industry vertical. Some of them end up going behind bars while some of them live freely. They behave just like normal citizens and go to public places in search of a perfect opportunity to commit crimes. Considering the vast customer base of movie theaters, varying from “infants to children”, and “adults to senior citizens”, implementing proper security measures becomes really important. It just takes one bad incident to damage the trust and credibility built in years. Conducting KYC procedures automatically filters the bad actors as they do not like to take the risk of being caught.

• Small Thefts: It is a common practice to lose valuable items while at a movie theater. Thieves have mastered the techniques of stealing wallets and purses, cellphones, and small gadgets that have high monetary worth from the people engrossed in watching a movie. KYC can help movie theaters in stopping such crimes as no criminal will take such illegal actions after having to provide their personal details during the KYC procedure. 

• Vandalism: Keeping aside the current situations, thousands of people visit movie theaters on average on any given day. These numbers will definitely resume after the world gets successful in fighting the virus completely. Acts of vandalism i.e, damaging public property is a serious issue in the cinema industry worldwide. When so many people gather at a single place for a few hours, it is natural that a few of them may not respect the property and damage it. People often damage expensive chairs, carpets, and curtains. Movie theaters lose tons of money due to vandalism every year. However, screening the customers before letting them enjoy the property and movie can easily prevent acts of vandalism to a great extent. 

• Camcorder Piracy: Another danger for the cinema world is to prevent camcorder piracy in theaters. Camcorder piracy is the act of recording the entire or maybe a part of a film in recording devices like cameras or cell phones while at a theater and publishing it on digital platforms. These acts are legally punishable. Conducting a proper KYC process with a government-issued identity document can easily help the management team to track down the person and make him pay for his illegal actions.

In order to prevent and fight all the above-mentioned issues and problems, the only effective solution is to conduct thorough KYC procedures. As the world has advanced in so many ways technologically, there is something called eKYC now. eKYC requires minimal human efforts as every step is automated with the help of cutting-edge technologies. In fact, AZYO is the market leader in automated identity verification and provides the best eKYC solution catering to various requirements as per industry standards. AZYO’s innovative plus cost-effective solution is highly efficient and effective in today’s digital world.