Amid Economic Crunch, Nigerians Spend N6.94bn  In Cinemas In 2022

Nigerians spent a whopping N6.94 billion in Cinemas in 2022 despite the tough economic crunch in the country which greatly reduced disposable income for many people.

The year 2022 was filled with many hard times for Nigerians. The high rate of inflation, flooding and the energy scarcity as a result of the Russian-Ukraine crisis contributed to raised the prices of food items, transport costs  and general cost of living in the country, thus throwing many more millions into abject poverty.

Regardless, the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN) generated N6.94 billion in revenue in 2022, buoyed by  the increase in average ticket price.

National president of CEAN, Opeyemi Ajayi, disclosed this while speaking to the media, stating that there has been a remarkable  increase in revenue generation in 2022 compared to the previous years.

Ajayi  who described NIgeria as a country that continues to lead recovery in Africa, post-COVID-19, on the back of strong local industry, listed the revenue generated by cinemas in the last five  years as N4.74 billion in 2021, N2.1 billion in 2020, N6.4 billion in 2019 and N5.98 billion in 2018.

Speaking on the revenue outlook of the cinema industry for 2023, the CEAN boss noted that  a 10 to 15 per cent increase in ticket price would potentially boost the  revenue of Cinema industry for the year, adding that independent cinemas presently constituted 25 per cent of the market share .

Ajayi noted that a 10 to 15 per cent increase in ticket price would potentially drive box office revenue in 2023 because independent cinemas constituted 25 per cent of the market share.

He also disclosed that the industry is expected to grow by a minimum of 20 per cent, as five cinemas were opened in the fourth quarter of 2022, and a minimum of three new locations are projected to open in the first half of 2023.

Ajayi also stated that Hollywood’s continual focus on African content is a huge advantage to the industry, as he looks forward to more collaborations between Hollywood and Nollywood in the future, while stating that  2023 is expected to have larger budget movies and potential releases outside the West African territory.

The CEAN boss further observed that the “Black Panther” is on track to become the first N1 billion movie, as he listed the top five highest-grossing Nollywood films in 2022 as Brotherhood, King of Thieves, Battle on Buka Street, Ijakumo and Passport.