TheNewsGuru

Tag: cinemas

  • Cinemas gross N7bn in 2023, Funke Akindele’s film contributes over 14%

    Cinemas gross N7bn in 2023, Funke Akindele’s film contributes over 14%

    Nigerian cinemas grossed more than 7.2 billion naira in 2023 from over 2.6 million admissions, with Nollywood averaging a 39 per cent market share, according to a new report.

    The earnings are over 416 million naira more than in 2022 with a seven per cent year-on-year increase in market share.

    However, while 2022 gross was earned from 64 locations, there was a total of 70 locations in 2023.

    According to data insights from The Industry, a journal by film insights publication, In Nollywood, over 14 per cent of the total gross was earned by Funke Akindele’s `A Tribe Called Judah’, which has become the first Nollywood film to hit one billion dollars in the cinema.

    The journal noted that the revenue growth, mostly hinged on increased ticket prices, is not happening at the same pace as admissions growth, which is still significantly low.

    In spite of the success of ‘A Tribe Called Judah’, Akindele’s previous film, Omo Ghetto: The Saga (2020) currently holds the record for the most admissions recorded for a Nollywood film at 449,901.

    The project was largely responsible for bringing the audience back to Nigerian cinemas after lockdown and converting new audiences.

    “If released in the same period as A Tribe Called Judah, with average ticket price at N3,700,  it’d have made over N1.6bn which raises the question of ticket prices and actual cinema habit growth, despite yearly increase in gross revenues.

    Ticket prices are at N7,000 in most cinemas in city centres.

    “In a similar context, the first Black Panther movie, released in 2018, had over 200,000 admissions more than Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

    “The latter went on to break the record for the first film to gross one billion naira in West Africa, a feat aided by increased ticket prices and more screening locations.

    “The former grossed over 800 million naira at the time. In 2018, there were 48 locations, the number grew to 64 by 2022,”  the journal stated.

    It also stated that cinemas have been hanging on by raising prices at a wild rate, causing audiences to think through their decisions more intently than before.

    NAN reports that nine other films, grossed over 5o million naira in the cinemas in 2023.

    They are Malaika, Ada Omo Daddy, Orisa, Merry Men 3, Kesari, Something Like Gold, The Kujus Again, Afamefuna and A Weekend To Forget.

     

  • Bolanle Austen-Peters’ latest film, ‘Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti’ thrills audiences at cinemas

    Bolanle Austen-Peters’ latest film, ‘Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti’ thrills audiences at cinemas

    The Bolanle Austen-Peters Productions is thrilled to announce the arrival of Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti the movie. It is the story of the legendary Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, mother to Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, in Silverbird Cinema, Victoria Island for an ongoing one-week screening, that will last till Thursday September 14, 2023.

    This landmark film marks a new era in the production company’s illustrious journey and showcases its passion for creating captivating movies for global audiences.

    Directed by the visionary Bolanle Austen-Peters, ‘Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti’ (FRK) is notable for its brilliant storytelling, unique characters, and stunning craftsmanship and is already wowing audiences at the cinema since it started screening on September 8.

    The film follows the story of Fela’s mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, from her pioneering days as the first female student at Abeokuta Grammar School to her marriage to Israel Ransome-Kuti. Together with her husband, they challenged oppression and created the Abeokuta Women’s Union, igniting a fierce battle against colonial and traditional rulers who stood in the way if fairness and justice.

    This narrative artfully contrasts FRK’s tireless activism with her delicate balancing act as a wife and mother, revealing the indomitable spirit of a woman who changed the course of history.

    This film emerges as one contribution to the important conversations people are having now around women, identity and the constant push for equality.

    The phenomenal cast features groundbreaking performances from Joke Silva, Kehinde Bankole, Ibrahim Suleiman, Jide Kosoko, Dele Odule, Adebayo Salami, Keppy Ekpeyoung, Adunni Ade, Omowunmi Dada, Patrick Diabuah and others.

    Austen-Peters, the driving force behind the film, expressed her enthusiasm on where the film might be headed, stating, “Submitting Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti for the consideration of Nigeria Official Screening Committee (NOSC) towards 96th Academy Awards next year is a humbling and exhilarating experience. Our team poured heart and soul into this project, and this submission is a testament to their unwavering dedication.”

    BAP Productions, known for its commitment to cinematic excellence, views this submission to NOSC as a significant milestone in its history.

    Speaking about this, Yakubu Yahaya, an Associate Producer said, “It represents the values and artistic vision that have guided our company for years. The film will undoubtedly leave a mark on the global film scene, and this submission for Nigeria’s Official Selection Committee for the Academy Awards sets the stage for an exciting journey through the forthcoming global awards season.”

  • I don’t believe in love at first sight-Genny Uzoma

    I don’t believe in love at first sight-Genny Uzoma

    Beautiful role interpreter, Genny Uzoma says she does not believe in love at first sight.

    According to her:” It happens, I guess. For me, I think it is more of lust or physical attraction at first sight. I may have said ‘yes’ wholeheartedly if I was asked this question 10 years ago. But now, I know that there is more to love than just meeting someone for the first time. And, love is even not enough most of the time (in relationships)”, she told Punch.

    Speaking further, Uzoma bemoaned the quality of Nollywood movies being shown at the cinemas, saying not all movies should make it to the cinemas.

     

    “Most certainly, not all movies should make it to the cinemas. I’m in the (film) business, so I understand how filmmakers feel. Nobody makes movies with the intention of it being crappy but sometimes, it turns out that way due to some reasons such as sound, lighting, storyline or acting.

    “If it turns out that way, there are other platforms to market and distribute our movies. We should not turn the cinema to a play thing or a joke, and constantly have the audience or reviewers insulting our movies. These things should be looked into by filmmakers and movie distributors. On the other hand, we are also improving and I know we will definitely get there, though politics will also always come into play.”

     

     

     

  • Gov Sanwo-Olu announces resumption of cinemas, spas, gyms

    Gov Sanwo-Olu announces resumption of cinemas, spas, gyms

    Governor Babajide Sanwoolu has announced the resumption of cinemas, spas and gyms in Lagos State.

    He announced this during a briefing in Lagos on Saturday.

    Sanwo-Olu, however, noted that cinemas must keep strictly to 33% of their capacities.

    “They must get the necessary certification from the Lagos State Safety Commission, “Governor Sanwo-Olu added.

  • Cinemas to reopen Sept 11- CEAN declares

    Cinemas to reopen Sept 11- CEAN declares

    The Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN) has declared that theatres across the country will now reopen on September 11.

    The association broke the news via their Instagram on Monday, following months of shutdown which the federal government enforced in March to curb COVID-19 spread.

    “Hip! Hip! Hurray! WE ARE BACK! Visit any Cinema near you from September 11th! We cannot contain our excitement,” it wrote.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CE1qeTSjRBO/

     

    The chairman of CEAN, Patrick Lee while speaking on the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown in August, had said the industry kept losing N1 billion on a monthly basis, rendering workers jobless.

    “We do not have a situation whereby we have 100, 200, or 500 people in the same place at the same time because of the nature in which cinemas operate,” he had said.

    “We promise to give room for social distancing, 50 percent hall occupancy, use of facemask, hand sanitisers and we have made provision for air conditioning systems that would pump in oxygen.

    “We’ve seen other aspects of the economy that are already opened and we have put enough safety protocols in place to ensure, when our customers return to watch movies, they are safe.

    “We have lost over N1billion every month that we have been locked down. And it is over N6billion now in six months. Most of our staff are currently unemployed.

    “There are over 20,000 that depend on the industry in terms of supplies and those who work with artisans. We are at the point of bankruptcy, we want the government to help us to reopen.”

     

  • Reopen cinemas just like worship centers, airports-Falz tells Buhari

    Reopen cinemas just like worship centers, airports-Falz tells Buhari

    Nigerian rapper and actor, Falz has urged the government to reopen cinemas and other segments in the entertainment sector.

    Falz also condemned the government for contributing little or nothing to the Nigerian creative industry.

     

    The ‘Bop Daddy’ crooner wrote on Twitter: “Right now, we don’t see anything but a government that contributes little or nothing to its creative sector and continues to attempt to stifle the sector in every way @MBuhari @ProfOsinbajo.

     

    “Restaurants have reopened, airlines have been operating, places of worship have also been permitted to reopen. Let’s not even start to talk about all the videos that have surfaced of political rallies happening, clearly neglecting all safety precautions.

     

    “The entertainment industry must be allowed to gradually get back in business!!

     

    “Let’s start with cinemas reopening with all safety precautions in place!”

     

    The singer recently floated his movie and television production company.

     

    “Super excited as I’ve officially set up a Film & TV production company @house21_tv with the aim of bringing you artistically sound & thoroughly entertaining content,” he wrote.

     

    The development comes at about the same time when entertainers are diversifying amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with Tuface also floating the Innobia Cooperatives Organisation, an agro-allied business project.

     

  • FG lifts ban on ‘Sugar rush’

    FG lifts ban on ‘Sugar rush’

    The National Film and Video Censors Board NFVCB has lifted the ban on the flick ‘Sugar Rush”.

    NFVCB announced the lift of the ban via its Twitter handle

    TheNewsGuru recalls that last week the censors board suspended the movie from being viewed at the cinemas on grounds that the temporary approval for the movie had elapsed and that for it to continue showing in cinemas, it must receive its final approval.

    The producer of the movie, Jade Osiberu also reiterated the NFVCB’s message on her Instagram page.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B7ZZ2qMl5cU/

    In her post, she thanked everyone who reached out during the ban. She went on to thank the NFVCB for helping get the movie back in the cinema.

     

    “We got such an outpouring of love in the last week, I couldn’t respond to all the calls and messages but your kind words and prayers were very encouraging ❤️❤️❤️Thank you soo much everyone. Thanks in particular to @alhadedayothomas and the @nfvcb for helping to get us back on the big screen and for the unwavering support of the industry.

     

     

  • Nigerians spent N3bn in cinemas for first half of 2019

    Nigerians spent nearly 3, 124, 026, 959 billion Naira to watch box office movies at Nigerian cinemas between January and June.
    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the figures are according to data provided by cinemas and gathered by the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN).
    The year opened with ‘Aquaman’, ‘Chief Daddy’ and ‘Up North’ sitting on the top three of the chart with an estimated combined earnings of 168, 263, 512 million Naira.
    The movies maintained their positions until the fourth week when ‘Glass’ debuted at number one with ‘Aquaman’ taking second place and ‘Chief Daddy’, third booting ‘Up North’ to fourth place.
    This led to a combined earnings of 91, 409, 100 million Naira which fell to 77, 259, 811 million Naira as January closed with Kevin Hart’s ‘The Upside’ kicking ‘Chief Daddy’ to fourth place.
    NAN reports that earnings remained low for February, making it the lowest grossing month with a total of 291, 843, 044 million Naira.
    Top spots were alternated between ‘Alita’, ‘Cold Pursuit’, ‘What Men Want’, ‘Escape Room’ and ‘The UpSide’.
    By March, viewership picked up steadily and the earnings were almost doubled from that of February leading to a total of 434, 432, 431 million Naira.
    ‘What Men Want’, ‘Alita’, ‘Hire A Woman’, ‘She Is’, ‘Us’ and ‘Babymamas’ enjoyed a relatively good run in March but a chunk of the earnings and viewership went to Marvel’s flick ‘Captain Marvel’.
    At the beginning of April, ‘HellBoy’, ‘Shazam’, ‘Little’ and ‘Us’ continued to share the top spot with ‘Captain Marvel’ until the release of the much anticipated ‘Avengers:Endgame’.
    NAN also reports that with ‘Avengers: Endgame’, earnings from April climbed from 186, 929, 188 million Naira in its third week to 342, 382, 389 million Naira in its final week.
    The month, which is the highest grossing in 2019, closed with an estimated total earnings of 734, 151, 060 million Naira due to major boost from Disney’s ‘Endgame’.
    In May, there was a massive dip in earnings similar to that experienced in February. With ‘Endgame’, ‘The Intruder’ and ‘Longshot’, it earned a total of 367, 498, 554 million Naira.
    The fall in viewership is usual after a global holiday such as Christmas for December/January and Easter for April.
    The numbers picked up in June with ‘John Wick’, ‘Godzilla’ and ‘Aladdin’ leading the numbers. They were supported by ‘Anna’, ‘Men In Black’, ‘Dark Phoenix’ and ‘Bling Lagosians’.
    June opened with 161, 132, 714 million Naira but closed with 100, 663, 647 million Naira leading to a total earning of 576, 322, 779 million Naira.

  • U.S. firm gets first licence to operate cinemas in Saudi Arabia

    U.S. firm gets first licence to operate cinemas in Saudi Arabia

    Saudi Ministry of Culture and Information on Wednesday said it had given U.S.-based firm — AMC — the first licence to operate cinemas in the kingdom.

     

    Saudi Minister of Culture and Information, Awwad Alawwad, said in a statement that AMC planned to open Saudi Arabia’s first cinema theatre in the capital Riyadh on April 18.

     

    He added that “the granting of the first licence marked the opening of very significant opportunities for exhibitors.”

     

    Alawwad added that the Saudi market was large, with majority of the population under the age of 30 and eager to watch their favourite films at home.

     

    In December, Saudi authorities announced the re-opening of cinemas in the country, lifting a 35-year-old ban.

     

    The move was part of the kingdom’s Vision 2030 plan, launched by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman in a bid to open up the country for investors and to diversify the kingdom’s economy.

     

    According to the culture minister’s statement, Saudi Arabia expects to have nearly 350 cinemas, with over 2,500 screens by 2030.

     

    The 32-year-old crown prince was believed to be behind the lifting of ban on women driving in the kingdom, a move that would go into effect in June.

    Saudi Arabia lifts historic ban, allows women to drive

  • Excitement as ‘Muna’ premieres at Wajolagos on Thursday [Video]

    The much-anticipated movie, ‘Muna’ is set for premiere in cinemas in Lagos from Thursday, December 28, 2017.

    The movie which features new talents is scheduled for premiere at Wajolagos, Freedom Park, Lagos Island by 7pm.

    Speaking on the idea behind the use of relatively new faces, the director of the movie, Adeniyi Joseph said it was a deliberate attempt to discover and help Nollwood compete and flourish more favourable than it is currently doing.

    According to him: “Nollywood has come so far only to be saturated with only a few talented people when there are a million and one other amazingly talented Nigerians you know nothing about.

    We want to break that barrier, we will make movies with only the undiscovered and for the meantime, we dont care about celebrities,” he said enthusiastically.

    Joseph, who also doubles as the founder of NostalgiaBoiz said his pet project, PoweredUp, is specifically built to train young, creative and talented Nigerians on Video editing, photography and acting.

    Speaking further, he said: “We have had 2 editions of PoweredUp already, it always turns us into a Nostalgia family and we get to do a project together.

    NostalgiaBoiz is an army of creative and young individuals with passion for excellence”.

    The storyline focuses on a character who wants a child but his ever busy wife wouldn’t give him that benefit. She would rather spend time with needy children and the girl child Muna.

    How much of this can he take? To find out, join ecstatic audience at the cinemas on Thursday to find out…

    Talents in the movie include; Adaeze Samuel, Abraham Uwaifo, Blessing Adams, Ralphulgas Ajay, Olamide Faleye and others.