Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigerian cinema operators generated revenue of N6.94 billion in 2022 against the N4.74 billion generated in 2021, a 46.4 per cent growth year-on-year.
This was disclosed by the National President of the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN), Mr Opeyemi Ajayi, during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
This indicated a continued post-pandemic recovery after the majority of businesses were closed during the year 2020, with Mr Ajayi adding that Nigeria’s movie industry continues to lead the recovery in Africa.
“The box office raked in N4.74 billion in 2021, N2.1 billion in 2020, N6.4 billion in 2019, and N5.98 billion in 2018.
“For 2022, the increase in average ticket price led to revenue growth, and admissions remained flat in the previous year.
“Nigeria continues to lead a recovery in Africa, post COVID on the back of strong local industry. Also, Hollywood continues to focus on African content, and engagement is very positive for the box office.
“We observed that Black Panther is on track to become the first N1 billion movie,” he said.
Giving an outlook for the year 2023, the CEAN President added that a 10 to 15 per cent increase in ticket price would potentially drive box office revenue in 2023 as he expected positive growth by a minimum of 20 per cent as independent cinemas constituted 25 per cent of the market share at present.
He added that factors had been observed to drive growth in the new year as five cinemas were opened in the fourth quarter of 2022, and a minimum of 3 new locations were expected to open in the first half of 2023.
“This will be a positive addition to the box office. Collaborations between Hollywood and Nollywood on content are expected to continue in the foreseeable future.
“And with the breakout success of big Nollywood movies such as Brotherhood, Battle on Buka Street, and King of Thieves, to mention a few, 2023 is expected to have a larger budget movie and potential release outside the West African territory.”
He also noted the top 5 highest grossing Nollywood films in 2022 as Brotherhood, King of Thieves, Battle on Buka Street, Ijakumo and Passport and: Black Panther, Woman King, Dr Strange, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Black Adam for Hollywood.
