Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has approved a significant policy change for the state's film exhibition sector, permitting theatres to schedule five shows a day for newly released Tamil films. The directive follows his meeting with Tamil film industry representatives on May 16.

Under the existing Tamil Cinema (Regulation) Rules, 1957, theatres were limited to four scheduled shows, with an additional special show permitted only on festive and government holidays, subject to approval from the District Collector, Police Inspector, or the Commissioner of Police in Chennai.

The new directive allows newly released Tamil films to run five shows daily for the first seven days from release. Five shows are also permitted on weekends, festive holidays, and government holidays. Crucially, these additional shows no longer require prior permission from the concerned authorities, streamlining the process considerably for theatre owners.