How Nigerians Spent N914m in the Cinemas in November 2022

Brotherhood remained in the list of the top five highest-grossing movies for November, going toe to toe with Hollywood’s The Woman King.

According to data provided by the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN), Nigerians spent a total of N914,404,301 on movies in the month of November 2022, with Blank Panther 2: Wakanda Forever raking in over N600 million Naira (65%) out of the total sum.

After only three weeks at the Nigerian box office, Hollywood’s Blank Panther 2: Wakanda Forever solidified its position at the box office, surpassing top rivals which include Nollywood’s Brotherhood, Hollywood’s The Woman King, and Black Adam.

According to the data analysed, more than 223,297 people trooped to the cinemas to see the Marvel production across the country. That is 38,548 more than its closest rival, ‘Black Adam’, which had 184,749 viewers. Black Adam is in its 6th week at Nigeria’s Box Office.

Brotherhood remained in the list of the top five highest-grossing movies for November, going toe to toe with Hollywood’s The Woman King despite playing in Box Office Nigeria for one less week.

This has been Nollywood’s most significant successful piece during the month.

The movie recorded a cumulatively earning of N318,809,570 and finished top 2 at the Box office for November. It continues to draw lovers of action-packed movies to the cinemas despite spending 10 weeks already in the Box Office’s top 20 movies in November.

What the figures mean

Following the total of N914,404,301 sales in November, movie revenue increased by around 46% from September to November. This indicates that despite the challenging economic climate in the nation, Nigerians are spending more on movies.

In a conversation with NAN, Patrick Lee, National President, Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria said that this indicates that Nigerians are becoming more accustomed to the idea of going to the cinema to watch their favourite films rather than downloading them from websites that may give free downloads or from websites like Netflix that require a subscription.

According to Lee, a similar trend was observed in April when a 50% increase in sales volume was recorded, up from the N388 million recorded in the same period, last year. According to CEAN, as at April this year the total monthly earnings across the country was N582 million.

Similarly, the cinemas experienced a 48% increase in sales comparing September 2022 to September 2021 and a 31% increase in August. CEAN said that it realised a total of N495m from ticket sales across cinemas across the country in September alone.

Are Nigerians beginning to love the new Nollywood?

Nollywood has overcome its previous challenge to win over Nigerians, who adore fantastic dramas and movies but find the productions made by their industry to be of poor quality and lacking in engaging plots.

While describing the old industry, Netizens mention predictability and lacking ingenious storylines as the main flaws of the industry, which seemingly is not lacking in talents.

“Brotherhood”, is a story of two brothers who are on either side of the law – one a hardened criminal (who shows some signs of empathy and contentment), the other, a policeman, who intends to run through the ranks to make a statement about doing good for society, is arguably Nollywood’s first attempt at a decent action movie.

It is no surprise the movie remains at the top of what Nigerians are watching in November. The movie represents what the “new Nollywood” can do with the finest storylines and video quality.

A little above N300m grossing revenue indicates that Nigerians are beginning to love locally created movies. However, for this to be sustained, Nollywood must look at how to replicate and sustain the kind of quality it brought out with movies like Brotherhood.