There are about 60 cinema-halls located in Chennai[2]. Below is a list of the most prominent exhibitors in the box office.
Sathyam - 1,266 seats (Chennai )
Albert - 1,225 seats (Chennai)
Devi - 1,212 seats (Chennai)
Melody - 998 seats (Chennai)
Abirami - 927 seats (Chennai)
Kasi - 917 seats (Chennai)
Sangam - 877 seats (Chennai)
Maharani - 733 seats (Chennai)
Udhayam - 700 seats (Chennai)
Santham - 567 seats (Chennai)
Padmam - 540 seats (Chennai)
Suriyan - 480 seats (Chennai)
Devi Bala - 369 seats (Chennai)
Subham - 306 seats (Chennai)
Mayajaal - 178 seats (Chennai)
Inox - 909 seats (Chennai)
Show rentals range from Rs.700 in C-centres to as much as Rs.7,000 in A-centres for an average 700-seat screen. Unlike Hollywood, superstardom is deeply ingrained into Kollywood economics, so distributors are prepared to not only finance the films of super stars with proven track records but are also, in turn, able to secure minimum guarantees for those films from exhibitors. Rise of multiplexes in the late 1990s has stunted the growth of large screens.