Cinema Culture Seems to be Thriving in Nigeria as Nigerians Spent Over N600 Million At Cinemas in December
Cinema culture is spreading very quickly among Nigerians and the latest statistics released by the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN) for the month of December 2018 shows us in figures, just how massive it has become.
According to the report on CEAN’s website, Nigerians spent a total of N680 million watching films at cinemas in December. The statistics released covers the period of 14th – 31st December, 2018 which means it represent the latter half of the month.
While this development could be attributed down to the holiday season, the report showed that for the period of 14th to 20th December 2018, the top 20 films in Nigeria made over N155 million.
Also for the period of December 21st – 27th 2018, Nigerians spent the highest at cinemas totaling N355 million.
And lastly for the period of December 28th – 31st 2018, the top 20 films in Nigeria grossed a total of N166 million.
The Cinema Culture in Nigeria
In recent times, watching movies in cinemas seems to be the new ‘thing in town’. This is because aside its entertainment values, movie-going is quickly becoming a lifestyle in which people go to the cinemas with their loved ones to see movies and relax.
Also worthy of note is the increased view of Nollywood films at cinemas. A few years ago, movies shown at the cinemas were mainly Hollywood movies and blockbusters. But now as we can see from the report, Nollywood films are also making their stand and amassing views and raking in huge money.
For example, Mo Abudu’s ‘Chief Daddy’, Kemi Adetiba’s ‘King of Boys’ and Geneveive Nnaji’s ‘Lion Heart’ were some of the top charting films in the report week-on-week. The reasons for this may not be so far-fetched as movie producers have found cinema premiering as a means of escaping the snares of movie pirates. Also the Nigerian movie industry has been churning out quality movies worthy of people’s time and money which makes them cinema-worthy.
For example Genevieve Nnaji’s Lion Heart also became the first Nigerian film to be available for streaming on Netflix
For movie enthusiasts, this vibrant cinema culture means movie lovers can enjoy quality films and life does not end with ‘home videos’.
