Most cinema halls in the city opening after a weeks closure due to the swine flu outbreak welcomed an extraordinarily large Monday crowd. Eager movie-goers headed for the ticket counter to watch Kaminey,Life Partner,Love Aaj Kal,GI Joe-Rise of Cobra. Contrary to the 20-25 per cent occupancy on usual Monday mornings,INOX opened with 65 per cent seats filled for Kaminey. We had anticipated it. So,while planning to run 11 shows a day,the staff were issued strict orders to wear masks and remain home in case they felt they had fever. They have been told to maintain cleanliness at all locations including cinema halls,toilets and shops in the multiplex, said Bipin Jha,general manager,INOX. The first show after the break was houseful at E Square. The response was expected. We were fully prepared for good collections despite the fact that it was Monday. We have 12 shows for Kaminey and the very first was houseful. The matinee witnessed 75-80 per cent response. Life Partner and other films have drawn an average response,but still,they are better than a usual Monday morning, said Priti Godbole,sales executive,E Square. At Gold Big Cinemas,it was the reverse,it began badly and then picked up. The matinee had 35 per cent bookings and by the final show of Kaminey,it went up to 70-75 per cent. The reason was the location of the multiplex at Kalyani Nagar,the hub for IT and ITES companies,whose employees prefer night shows. By afternoon,we recorded 40 per cent advance bookings. The audience has been waiting for multiplexes to reopen and they knew waiting for current booking might mean ending up staring at the houseful board, said Sandeep Shetty,manager,Gold Big Cinemas. However,single screen cinemas did not have a good first day. M S Bhandare,manager,Rahul Multiplex,that had 20 per cent occupancy,said,The last time when we opened after closing for renovation for six months,the lobby was full of people. Kaminey is doing good elsewhere. We expected similar response today,but the swine flu threat seems to have kept people away.