March 22, 2024
The President of Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria,CEAN, Patrick Lee has revealed that Nollywood commands about 67 percent of movies that are currently showing in the country’s box office.

Nollywood ruling the big screen — CEAN boss

The President of Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria,CEAN, Patrick Lee has revealed that Nollywood commands about 67 percent of movies that are currently showing in the country’s box office.

This is coming three years after CEAN boss also cited the story line, excitement level of the films and stars featured in them as part of the reasons that Nollywood movies didn’t enjoy enough patronage in the cinemas in the past.

However, speaking at a recent event in Lagos, Lee said when they first started the business, Nollywood generated only five percent of box office revenues. But last year, they realized about N5 billion from ticket sales across cinemas in the country. According to him, out of the N5 billion, Nollywood movies accounted for 43 percent of the sales.

In his words: “When I first started this business, few Nollywood movies were shown in the cinemas. This experience continued until 2010, when we had a major breakthrough with Stephanie Okereke’s movie, “Through the Glass.’ And since then, the cinema business has grown in leaps and bounds in the country.”

He added: “For the past 14 years that I have been in this business, I have seen the development of the cinema culture in Nigeria. Before now, we had only three cinema houses, including Ozone cinemas, Galleria and Genesis cinemas. Today, we have about 65 cinemas dotted all round the country.

“A few years ago, in 2015, Nollywood recorded a major breakthrough. Two years later, Funke Akindele’s “Omo Ghetto” grossed over N650 million at the box office, while Femi Adebayo’s ‘King of Thieves’ generated about N340 million and Jade Osiberu’s “Brotherhood” currently in the cinema has grossed over N230 million,” CEAN boss revealed.

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