Cinema screens in India are going through an interesting change. For years, premium cinema was mostly about bigger screens, better projectors and improved sound. That has changed in recent years with the arrival of direct view LED screens, where the image is produced directly by the LED wall instead of being projected onto a screen.

India now has around 10 cinema LED screens, with eight already operational and another two in the pipeline. It is still a small number compared to the overall number of cinema screens in the country, but LED is slowly becoming a serious part of India’s premium cinema landscape.

What makes the current situation interesting is that these screens are not limited to one operator or one technology. Samsung Onyx is the most familiar name among Indian moviegoers, but other LED manufacturers and cinema display technologies are also making their way into theatres.

And unlike Dolby Cinema or IMAX, which have a more clearly defined identity, cinema LED in India is currently a mix of different installations.

Where are India’s cinema LED screens?

South India currently has the biggest share of these installations.

Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Kochi and Visakhapatnam already have LED cinema screens, while Mumbai and Delhi have also joined the list.

The current map of cinema LED screens includes:

Delhi
ONYX DLF Saket – Cinepolis

Mumbai
ONYX Diner, Malad – PVR INOX

Pune
SpectraX – Complex Cinemas

Hyderabad
EPIQ Luxon – AAA Cinemas

Visakhapatnam
Q Luxon – AAA Cinemas

Bengaluru
ONYX M5 – PVR INOX

ONYX Swagath – Single Screen

Kochi
Magnova – Magic Frames

Coimbatore
EPIQ Luxon – Karpagam

There are also two upcoming installations that will take the total to around 10 screens.

One thing that immediately stands out from this list is the geographical spread. South India is clearly ahead at the moment, while North India has a much smaller presence. Delhi’s ONYX at DLF Saket is currently the notable name in the north.

The interesting part is the size

Cinema LED is usually associated with relatively smaller premium screens, but India’s installations show quite a wide variation.

The smallest LED cinema screen in the current list is around 26 feet wide, while the largest is around 71 feet.

That 71 foot figure is particularly interesting because it puts the installation much closer to the size people normally associate with a giant cinema screen.

This is also why simply saying “LED screens are smaller than projection screens” does not really tell the whole story anymore. The size depends on the auditorium, the installation and the particular LED system being used.

For exhibitors, that flexibility is useful. They can choose a configuration that suits the auditorium instead of being restricted to a conventional projection setup.

Samsung isn’t the only player anymore

When cinema LED is mentioned in India, Samsung Onyx is usually the first name that comes to mind.

Samsung was one of the companies that helped introduce the concept to Indian audiences, and Onyx installations have now appeared in multiple cities. The technology has also become one of the more recognisable premium cinema formats in the country.

But the Indian market is no longer just about Samsung.

The current installations involve several different LED technology companies, including AOTO, HeyLED, Tricorne LED and others.

That is actually a positive development.

Having multiple manufacturers in the market gives exhibitors more options when planning new screens. It also means cinema LED in India is not going to be tied permanently to a single brand.

For the audience, however, the manufacturer name is not necessarily the most important thing. Two LED screens can use completely different hardware and still offer very different experiences depending on calibration, screen size, auditorium design, content and sound.

Why are theatres interested in LED?

The biggest difference is fairly simple.

A normal cinema projector sends light onto a projection screen. An LED cinema screen produces the image itself.

That gives LED some obvious advantages.

Brightness is one of them. An LED display can produce a very bright image without relying on a projector and projection surface. HDR content can also benefit from the additional brightness and contrast capability.

Black levels are another major advantage. Since the pixels themselves generate the image, dark portions of the picture can be controlled much more directly than with conventional projection.

This can make a noticeable difference in films with dark scenes, night sequences and high contrast imagery.

There is also no projector sitting behind the audience. No projection lamp. No projection lens. No light travelling across the auditorium before reaching the screen.

For a premium cinema operator, that is an entirely different way of building the presentation system.

But LED doesn’t automatically mean a better cinema

This is where things get more interesting.

If someone tells you that an LED screen is automatically better than every projection screen, that is an oversimplification.

Screen size still matters.

There is a reason audiences love huge cinema screens. Sitting in front of a massive 70 foot, 80 foot or larger screen creates an impact that cannot simply be measured by brightness or contrast.

A smaller LED screen can look extremely clean and punchy, but a huge projection screen can provide a completely different sense of scale.

So there are two different things happening here.

LED is trying to improve the quality and control of the image.

Large format cinema is trying to maximise the scale of the experience.

The ideal choice depends on what you personally value.

For some movies, the massive image is the biggest attraction. For others, the cleaner blacks, brightness and HDR performance of an LED screen may be more impressive.

Hyderabad is becoming an interesting market

Hyderabad is one of the cities worth watching closely in this space.

The city already has several premium cinema formats, and LED has now entered that competition through AAA Cinemas.

The EPIQ Luxon screen at AAA is particularly interesting because it combines the LED display with a premium large format auditorium and Dolby Atmos sound.

This is also part of a bigger trend in Hyderabad where theatre operators are increasingly looking beyond the conventional multiplex model.

Instead of simply adding another screen, operators are trying to give individual auditoriums a distinct identity.

One screen may be built around Dolby Cinema, another around a large format experience, another around LED and another around immersive formats.

For regular moviegoers, this is actually a good time to be a cinema fan in the city.

Bengaluru has already gone a step further

Bengaluru currently has multiple LED installations, including ONYX M5 at PVR INOX and ONYX Swagath.

The Swagath installation is particularly notable because it is located in a single screen theatre rather than a typical modern multiplex environment.

That shows where LED could eventually go.

It does not necessarily have to remain a technology reserved for newly built luxury multiplexes. If the economics make sense, older theatres can also look at upgrading their presentation systems.

Whether that happens on a large scale is another question, but the possibility is already there.

South India is clearly leading the LED push

Looking at the current map, South India has a clear advantage.

Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kochi, Coimbatore and Visakhapatnam already have LED screens, giving the region a much stronger presence than the north.

There are several possible reasons for this.

South Indian cinema has a very strong theatrical culture, particularly around major star releases. Large screens and premium presentations have traditionally attracted considerable attention from audiences.

The region also has several exhibitors who are willing to experiment with premium cinema formats.

That combination makes South India a natural market for something like cinema LED.

Mumbai remains important because of its position as one of India’s biggest premium cinema markets, while Delhi has its ONYX installation at DLF Saket. But at the moment, the concentration in the south is difficult to ignore.

LED is now part of a much bigger premium cinema race

The LED numbers become more interesting when they are placed alongside the other premium formats currently available in India.

By the end of 2026, the Indian cinema landscape is expected to have around:

4 Dolby Cinema screens

3 HDR screens

3 ICE screens

4 ScreenX screens

10 LED screens

13 EPIQ screens

Around 37 IMAX screens

These formats are not direct replacements for one another.

IMAX is still heavily associated with large format presentation.

Dolby Cinema puts major emphasis on Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.

ScreenX expands the picture beyond the main screen and onto the side walls.

ICE adds an immersive environment around the screen.

HDR screens focus on improved dynamic range and image performance.

LED takes a different route altogether by replacing conventional projection with a direct view display.

That is why the current premium cinema market is becoming much more interesting than it was a few years ago.

The next question is where the next LED screens will come up

Ten screens is still a tiny number for a country the size of India.

The bigger question is whether LED remains a niche premium attraction or starts becoming a more common cinema technology.

The answer will ultimately come down to cost and demand.

Installing a cinema LED wall is a major investment. Theatre owners have to consider the display itself, auditorium dimensions, installation, maintenance and the number of customers willing to pay a premium for the experience.

For a brand new premium auditorium, LED can be considered from the beginning.

For an existing theatre that already has a large screen and a capable laser projector, replacing the entire projection system is a much bigger decision.

That is probably why we will not suddenly see hundreds of LED screens appearing across India.

The growth is likely to be gradual.

New premium cinema projects will probably be the first place to look for more installations, followed by selected upgrades in existing theatres.

10 screens may not sound like much, but it is a start

India having 10 cinema LED screens is still more of a beginning than a major transformation.

But it is an important beginning.

A few years ago, cinema LED was something most Indian audiences had only heard about. Today, moviegoers in cities such as Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Kochi, Coimbatore and Visakhapatnam can actually experience it.

And the technology is no longer coming from just one company.

With Samsung, AOTO, HeyLED, Tricorne LED and other players entering the space, the Indian cinema LED market is slowly taking shape.

It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few years.

Will exhibitors continue investing in enormous projection screens, or will more premium auditoriums move towards direct view LED? Will LED installations become common in Tier 2 cities? And, perhaps most importantly, will audiences consider the difference significant enough to pay extra for it?

For now, India has 10 cinema LED screens.

Considering how quickly premium cinema technology has expanded in the country in the last few years, that number could look very small before the decade is over.