Spider-Man Dominated Nigerian Cinemas, With Moviegoers Spending Over N887M

Spider-Man dominated Nigerian cinemas, with moviegoers spending over N887M 

The holiday season is a wonderful time to unwind and spend quality time with family and friends, but it can also be stressful. As recent cinema attendance figures have shown, going to the movies with family and friends is still the most popular way of doing just that.

According to the records of the Nigerian Movie Exhibitors Association, the country's cinema audience increased dramatically during the season, resulting in a corresponding increase in cinema revenue.

During the peak holiday period of December 24th to December 30th, 2022, a total of 238,110 people were admitted into cinemas across the country. Consequently, the company generated a cumulative gross profit of more than 500 million naira, which was more than 700 percent higher than the 63 million recorded in the final week of November.

When compared to the same period last year, the statistics revealed a significant increase of more than 200 million naira, accounting for a 40% increase in income as a result of the relaxation of the COVID-19 limit.

But the cumulative gross revenue for the entire yuletide season, which runs from December 3, 2021, to December 30, 2021, is well in excess of 800 million naira, indicating that moviegoers appear to be eager to catch a glimpse of the latest motion picture releases.

In an interview with Technext, Nnamdi Atupulazi, a cinema enthusiast and Trend FM's On-Air Personality Asaba, explained that the high numbers could be attributed to the fact that many people were tired of being cooped up indoors due to the lockdowns and were eager to explore whenever possible.

Added to that, the emergence of new cinemas in the last year has contributed to the increased interest, according to him. According to him, an increase in the number of cinemas equals an increase in competition, and increased competition equals an increase in advertising (billboards, radio, tv, social media, etc).

You can bet that a significant number of people have started going to the movies as a result of advertisements or the influence of friends who were also influenced by advertisements in the last year, according to him.

In the first few weeks of January, there was a 74 percent drop

Although box office receipts were impressive during the holiday season, reports from the exhibitors' association revealed a significant decline in total box office revenue grosses. This indicates that moviegoers are fleeing from previously crowded theaters at a rapid pace.

CEAN website reports that as the holiday season draws to a close and people prepare for the New Year, moviegoers have decreased by 70%, with cinemas admitting 69,982 people in weekend gross during the second week of January, according to CEAN reports.

This represents a 70% decrease from the previous holiday season's figures, which Nnamdi believes is to be expected given that everything related to entertainment is at its peak during the holiday season, according to him.

"Even though people go to the movies for a variety of reasons, it's easy to see why the holiday season is a particularly busy time of year for movie theaters. This is also one of the reasons why Nigerian roads, hotels, amusement parks, bars, and clubs see an increase in activity and traffic during the Christmas season, according to the World Bank "He went on to explain.

Nollywood films have had some success, with Spiderman

Marvel's Spider-Man: No Way Home grossed a whopping 230,131,949 naira in its second week of release in Nigerian cinemas, accounting for 53 percent of the country's overall profit during the Christmas holiday season.

Even after only five weeks in theaters, it is currently the highest-grossing film in the world at the box office. However, the company's weekend revenue is currently slightly more than 16 million naira, according to the company.

This week's top-grossing film in Nigerian cinemas was Christmas in Miami, which was produced by Nollywood and earned 127,608,800 naira. This makes it the second highest-grossing film in Nigerian cinemas during the festive season.

Another Nollywood film, Filmone's Aki & Paw Paw, follows in the footsteps of this success, coming in third place during the week of review in question.

However, while Nollywood films continue to lag behind their foreign counterparts at the box office, the figures gathered during the celebrations indicate the possibility of further improvements as well as the possibility of a Nigerian box office chart dominated by local content in the near future.

There were a total of 11 Nollywood films released during the seven-day period that encompassed the Yuletide's major events, generating a total of 175 million naira in cumulative revenue, accounting for 35 percent of total box office revenue.

According to these figures, Nollywood films grossed 240 million dollars, or 79 percent of total revenue for the peak week the previous year. Our analyst, Nnamdi, attributed Nollywood's mixed fortunes on the charts to the quality of the films, the popularity of the producers, and the perceived social status conferred on some Nigerians as a result of their refusal to watch local films.

Interesting, despite intense competition from video-on-demand services such as Netflix, cinema attendance in the country continues to be significant. Our analyst, on the other hand, believes that the current battle being waged by movie theaters against the VoD takeover will not last for long.

"As more people purchase smart TVs, they will be able to connect them to Netflix or other video-on-demand services, allowing them to watch movies on the big screen rather than on their smartphone or computer. Furthermore, the cost of seeing a single film in a theater can frequently be sufficient to cover the cost of a month's subscription to a video-on-demand service. You can make a better guess than I do as to which option the overwhelming majority of Nigerians will choose, given the country's dire economic situation "He came to a conclusion.

Finally,

Cinemas continue to be a popular destination for many Nigerians, whether it is due to the fact that they continue to reward moviegoers for their attendance or because they are able to meet the growing demand for social interaction.

Although cinemas are experiencing a renaissance, it may not last for long in the face of video-on-demand (VOD) companies such as Netflix, which offer a diverse selection of content to people in the comfort of their own homes.