West Africa’s Cinema Records $11.5m In Revenue Amid Recovery Trend

West Africa’s cinema industry has continued its recovery in 2025, generating $11.5 million in box-office revenue and attracting 2.79 million moviegoers

Nollywood remained the region’s dominant force, accounting for nearly half of the market and producing many of the year’s top-performing films

Despite growing demand, a shortage of cinemas remains a major challenge, especially in Francophone West Africa

The region’s film industry saw strong growth in 2025.

According to data compiled by FilmOne Entertainment theatrical releases across the region generated N15.6 billion naira (about $11.5 million) in revenue.

The Lagos-based film production and distribution company provided a broader overview of the market, confirming a sustained recovery in the cinema sector.

The FilmOne 2025 report also showed that 2.79 million people attended cinemas.

A total of 248 new films were screened across 122 cinemas, with 16 titles each earning more than $140,253.

The average movie ticket price stabilised at around $4.

Nigeria, the continent’s most populous country, remains a heavyweight in West Africa’s film industry and continues to dominate the market.

According to statistics provided by the same source, Nollywood accounted for 49.4 per cent of the market, closely followed by Hollywood at 48.8 per cent, while Chinese and Liberian films contributed just 1.2 per cent. Fourteen Nollywood films generated more than $70,126 each.

In terms of production volume, there were 81 Nollywood films, 92 Hollywood productions and 52 films from the Indian subcontinent. The Nollywood title Behind The Scenes topped the box office, cementing FilmOne Entertainment’s position as the leading distributor in 2025. In other categories, Zootopia 2 led the animation segment, Sinners ranked first among Hollywood releases, and Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle topped the anime category.

Across Anglophone West Africa, Nigerian cinemas continue to lead the market. EbonyLife Cinema became the highest-grossing cinema in Anglophone West Africa in 2024, generating 838 million naira in revenue and recording 138,000 admissions, representing a 5 per cent market share in the region.

In Francophone markets, particularly in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Senegal, Benin, Togo and Burkina Faso, the sector is gradually recovering but remains heavily dependent on the Canal Olympia cinema network. According to a July 2025 publication by iciCiné, the operator runs 18 cinemas and live-performance venues across 12 African countries, including 10 in Francophone West Africa.

French cinema group Pathé also operates multiplexes in West Africa, notably in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, with modern complexes opened in Dakar in 2022 and in Abidjan in 2024.

These venues have attracted relatively strong attendance, helped by the growth of the middle class. However, the number of cinemas remains insufficient.

Since the disappearance of many popular movie theaters that served as major centers of urban social life during the 1980s and 1990s, cinemas have become scarce across West Africa. Access to the theaters that remain open is still beyond the reach of many households. Going to the movies is also no longer as common as it once was, with audiences increasingly turning to streaming services and other digital platforms.

In 2025, Idris Elba, the British actor, producer and director of Sierra Leonean and Ghanaian descent, declared, “I want to build the African Odéon” during SXSW London, expressing his ambition to create a pan-African cinema chain. His remarks underscore a major infrastructure gap identified in recent reports by UNESCO and the Pan-African Audiovisual and Cinema Observatory (OPAC), which found that between 2023 and 2025 Africa had fewer than 3,000 cinemas and around 1,650 screens—equivalent to roughly one screen for every 787,000 people.