Amid increased attention on Nollywood programming and systematic film placement in cinemas, distributors and exhibitors have clarified that decisions regarding which films are screened in Nigerian cinemas are strictly commercial. They stress that programming is driven by commercial realities, audience demand, and opening-week performance, rather than sentiment.
Speaking on the topic “Cinema Programming and the Economics of Exhibition and Access in Nollywood” at a recentSMC Filmmakers’ Forum, industry stakeholders Funmi Onuma, General Manger West Africa, Silverbird Cinemas, Michael Williams, General Manager, EbonyLife Place, Ladun Awobokun, Chief Content Officer, FilmOne Ltd., and Patrick Lee, Head of Operations, Viva Cinema and Viva Distribution, urged filmmakers to understand how distribution and exhibition considerations shape marketing and release strategies if they hope to succeed theatrically.
Williams explained that exhibitors rarely face a dilemma when programming films because decisions are entirely commercial. “Film programming is mostly a commercial decision. If you’re doing it on sentiment, it doesn’t make any sense,” he said, adding that choosing films based on personal preferences would amount to commercial suicide.
Lee further explained that almost every film is given a chance to sell, but survival beyond the opening week depends on numbers. “That’s why the first week is generally very important for any movie that comes out. It’s not something we do emotionally; it’s something we do based on the figures that we see,” he said.
“Everything goes into your opening weekend because that dictates what’s going to happen in subsequent weeks,” Williams said, noting that even big Hollywood titles are quickly moved if they fail to perform as the phenomenon is not peculiar to only Nollywood titles.
Onuma warned filmmakers against exhausting their budgets on production alone. She stressed the importance of engaging distributors early and planning robust marketing campaigns.
“You come to me with a finished product, you don’t have a marketing budget, you’ve exhausted all your money producing the film, and the cinema says, ‘Okay, I’m going to take 30 percent because I’m going to use 10 percent for marketing, you’realready feeling like you’re being ripped off. But you need to market your products. Every movie that has done well has broken box office, has invested at least 30 percent of its budget in marketing. Marketing reminds people to come,” Onuma said.
Onuma added that speaking with distributors or exhibitors before shooting can shape better outcomes, noting that some filmmakers are “already set in their ways” and resistant to guidance, often relying on what others have done rather than understanding the specifics of their own projects.
Panelists also challenged the industry’s heavy focus on December releases. Awobokun highlighted that Nigeria’s numerous public holidays offer multiple release windows. “It’s not just December. It is Easter, small Sallah, big Sallah, June 12th, May 1st, etc., even globally, when there’s a bank holiday, you will have more people come into the cinema,” she explained.
The real challenge, she says, remains the limited number of screens; therefore, scheduling also continues to be an issue. Nigeria currently has 102 cinema locations with just 333 screens, according to FilmOne Entertainment’s 2024 reports. Despite this, Awobokun reiterates that ultimately the audience’s demand determines how films are scheduled.
Williams added that December does not magically transform poorly marketed films into hits. “December rewards people who’ve made a good film, planned very well, and marketed very well. It only makes a big film bigger,” he said.
Beyond programming and marketing, Lee highlighted taxation as a major factor eroding filmmakers’ earnings. He called for industry-wide engagement with government on tax reliefs. “If I’m paying a huge amount for withholding tax and VAT, it’s going to eat into my profit margin because both parties will pay it. At the end of the day, you’re paying about 15 percent of the gross amount recovered as your tax,” he said.
Speaking on the call for distributors to create more room for underexplored genres, Lee also noted that distributors have limited room to create audiences for niche genres. “It’s not what we want to do, but what the customers are telling us that they would pay their money to watch. And we, as the platform to show those movies, have to go with what our customers are ready to pay for. We don’t have as much leeway as people think we have in trying to create a customer base for a particular type of movie,” he said.
Awobokun advised filmmakers, especially newcomers, to rely on data rather than online narratives. “Cinema remains a very reliable way to make money, and filmmakers just need to understand that they should not follow the bandwagon or what is being said online but rather speak to distributors”. She described social media criticism of cinemas as performative, noting that many critics privately continue to work with distributors, and it behooves filmmakers to get the information and data they need as they consider starting a new project.
