This photograph taken on Septemebr 4, 2026 shows chief operator Veerain Reddy working inside a ticket booking counter at the single-screen Mukunda Theatre in Bengaluru. India's single-screen cinemas have been steadily squeezed by multiplexes, streaming, rising property costs and the expense of maintaining ageing buildings and equipment. Researchers estimate that India had around 14,000 single-screen halls in the 1980s. Only around 2,000 remain today. (Photo by Idrees MOHAMMED / AFP via Getty Images)