Hollywood dominates as moviegoers spent ₦51m on cinema in one weekend

The last weekend of July recorded a significant drop in cinema visits but had ₦51,417,940 in revenue, almost the same as the previous week, which had ₦51,857,862.

Hollywood alone, which includes films from Disney, Warner Bros, Universal, and Paramount, recorded ₦33,730,289, which is 52.4 per cent of the total revenue generated from July 29 through July 31.

Nigeria’s Box office revenue from July 22 – 24

As seen in the figure above, Thor: Love and Thunder recorded significant revenue compared to others on the list. However, we will remember that it was only released on July 8, 2022, and was an anticipated movie worldwide.

The Nigerian movie that comes next, Tiger’s Tail, did not have as much production or marketing budget as Disney’s Thor. Besides, it was only released on July 22.

Top three movies cinema-goers spent on:

Read also: ‘Doctor Strange’ dominates as Nigeria’s Box Office records ₦703m in May 2022

The three least viewed movies for that week are Nollywood’s Northeast, Ghallywood’s God is African, and Borga, and gathered just ₦13,258 during the weekend in review.

Northeast, a movie about an Igbo Christian physiotherapist who embarks on a romantic relationship with one of his patients, who is a Hausa Muslim, was initially released on June 23, 2016, and was directed by Muyiwa Aluko.

God is African is a movie about Amana Essel, who is diagnosed with what seems like a terminal condition. This shakes the core of her faith and challenges everything she has ever believed in. In the end, and, in the lives of everyone around her, she finally sees God. This was released on April 15, 2022.

Borga, a Ghanaian-German drama, was released in Germany on October 28, 2021, and premiered at the cinemas on June 24, 2022.

The total revenue for the weekend ending July 24 is ₦51,857,862, and the Hollywood movies recorded ₦38,249,953.

Box office revenue from July 29 – 31

Thor: Love and Thunder saw a reduction in revenue from the previous as it entered the fourth week but stayed on top of the table, and significantly apart from movies that come next.

Top three profitable movies:

The Disney movie, which reportedly had a $250 million budget – including production and marketing – has stayed on top of the table since its release and recorded ₦41,448,959 from July 15 through to July 21.

In this instalment of the series, ‘Thor’ embarks on a perilous journey, seeking inner peace. However, his retirement gets interrupted by ‘Gorr the God Butcher’, a galactic killer who seeks the extinction of the gods. To deal with the threat, Thor enlists the help of ‘King Valkyrie’, ‘Korg’ and ex-girlfriend ‘Jane Foster’. Together, they set out on a harrowing cosmic adventure to uncover the mystery of the God Butcher’s vengeance.

Hey You, a 2022 Nigerian Romantic comedy film written and directed by Uyoyou Adia and produced by Victoria Akujobi under the Anthill Production Studio, was released in cinemas across Nigeria on July 29.

The Nigerian movie has recorded ₦8,414,250 in its first weekend, but antecedents have shown that the excitement for Nollywood movies dies almost immediately after.

In DC League of Super Pets, ‘Krypto the Super-Dog’ and ‘Superman’ are inseparable best friends, sharing the same superpowers and fighting crime together. However, when the Man of Steel and the rest of the Justice League are kidnapped, Krypto must convince a ragtag group of animals to master their own newfound powers for a rescue mission.

The Warner Bros movie, released July 29, appears third on a list of 20 most watched movies of the weekend in review and gathered ₦5,569,510.

The trends

Nollywood is arguably the second largest movie industry globally – in terms of output, producing about 2,500 films in a year. But, data analysed The Industry by Inside Nollywood, a film data publication, said the market share of Nollywood in cinemas is currently at 25.8 per cent.

Inside Nollywood noted that in the last couple of years, Nollywood had managed a market share within the threshold of 40 per cent, with a large chunk of the remaining 60 per cent held by Hollywood.

That trend is continuing, especially as a review of the last three weekends has shown that Hollywood movies have taken home more share of the revenue and have stayed top of the table for the period in review. And, it is mostly perception.

Nollywood movies have struggled with the presentation of stories and sometimes come up with fantastic presentations with a lineup of amazing actors but have bad stories.

At other times, viewers must have built their perceptions based on past viewings and go see a new movie with a strong bias. This is mostly caused by comparison with other film industries.

Also, while Hollywood movies are based on projecting possible future realities and fantasies, there is still a sense of reality and relatability. On the flip side, Nollywood focuses on non-factual realities and sometimes tries to copy presentation styles and cultural elements, despite the low budget.

Bottomline

In 2019, President of Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN), Patrick Lee said cinema goers usually pay for three things; the storyline, the excitement level of the films and the special effects and stars featured in the movies – all three of which Hollywood movies usually possess as in the case of Thor: Love and Thunder.

“That’s how they look at Hollywood movies,” he said, adding that “Hollywood movies don’t have to have a fantastic storyline, but if it has very good special effects, the audience will pay to watch the film.”

However, we must remember that budgets for Nollywood movies are far lesser than that of Hollywood or Bollywood.

Yet, this last weekend has shown a significant increase in Nigeria’s Box Office numbers, recording a cumulative of ₦1,050,252,050 from July 15-21 and ₦1,156,958,776 from July 29-31 and Nollywood movies had a significant share.