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In late 2023, Funke Akindele’s critically acclaimed movie ‘A Tribe Called Judah‘ set a remarkable precedent for local cinema by becoming the highest grossing Nigerian movie of all time – as the movie racked in a staggering one billion naira ticket sales nationwide.
Fast forward to 2024 and the momentum preceded by ‘A Tribe Called Judah’s success is undeniably infectious.
2024 ( Q1 – Q3) has seen Cinema Ticket sales in the country aggregate to seven billion naira, already tilting close to last year’s record breaking estimate of 7.2 Billion Naira.
Thanks to and not limited to the success of high performing opening weekenders such as Wumi Toriola’s Queen Lateefah ( 52 Million Naira), Jack’enneth Okpukeme’s Farmer’s Bride ( 37.3 Million Naira), alongside smash hits like Beast of Two Worlds, Ajosepo, Lakatabu, three of which cumulative earnings sums up to 200 Million naira, and of course ‘A Tribe Called Judah’ (600 million naira earned in 2024), Nigerian box office earnings in the year 2024 have skyrocketed to insane and never before witnessed heights.
Considering the numbers already achieved in box office sales within the Q1 -Q3 season of the year, one can only marvel at the naira bills that will be earned in the final quarters of the year, especially as it falls during the festive period, when highly anticipated blockbusters ( Everybody Loves Jenifa, Basket Mouth’s ‘A Ghetto Story’, AY’s ‘The Waiter’) are set to hit the big screens.
While Nigerian Cinema and Nollywood as a whole is experiencing a new era of commercial success, in which fervent patronage for local stories burns than ever, the disparity between the country’s infrastructural realities, and the cumulative payout is not only a miracle but proves that if improved on, Nollywood could be the country’s biggest export.
What this writer means is this; In a big year such as 2024, a country like Nigeria, home to over 200 million citizens barely houses 300 cinema screens ( with the average film house privy to six screens or less).
Lagos, with its population of 16.5 million, accounts for 41% of those screens, leaving the rest 91.75% of Nigeria’s population fighting for access to the 59% reminants.
This statistics shouldn’t be a reality in 2024, as Nollywood bestows the potential of becoming a formidable force in the country’s creative economy. Imagine a world in which a plethora of film house across the thirty-six states of Nigeria has access to at least 3 million screens, imagine what the cultural, and financial impact would look like.
The disparity between the country’s poor infrastructural realities and the cumulative box office earnings is alarming but presents a silver lining.
