Film Distribution is No Longer the Problem of Nollywood

Film Distribution is No Longer the Problem of Nollywood

Widespread piracy and international film distribution were the recurrent problems of Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry before the attraction of the leading companies in acquisition and distribution in the global film industry through the participation of Nigerian filmmakers in international film festivals and markets in America and Europe.

The international exposure improved the quality of Nigerian movies in accordance with the criteria for international acquisition and distribution of film and TV productions with the use of the best digital cinema cameras and accessories from Canon, Sony, Blackmagic Design, Christie Digital and ARRI.

With the attractions of the MultiChoice Group, StarTimes, 

Canal+, Sky TV, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Disney, Lionsgate and others, Nigerian filmmakers cannot complain about the lack of access for the international acquisition and distribution of their movies. The only challenge to them is to produce very good movies to meet the growing demand for global content of top quality of international standards.

Nollywood has attracted Dolby for the best sound quality in film and TV productions, Hiventy for the best dubbing in different international languages of movies, TV dramas, comedies and series and Drylab R&D AS of Norway for the best set reports and workflows for film and TV productions.

 

Nollywood has also attracted the IMAX Corporation of Canada for mega cinemas and CanalOlympia of France. 

"It is very important for us to be close to Nollywood," Simon Minkowski, development director at Canal Olympia, told AFP.  

Another IMAX cinema is going to be built within the next five years.

There are other leading global companies with big budgets for international acquisition and distribution and are willing to acquire the film and TV rights to Nigerian content of which I have recommended two new movies by two outstanding Nigerian filmmakers. One of the movies is scheduled for theatrical release in local cinemas in Nigeria. They are also looking for new movies that can have international theatrical release.  

Success Iyoha, one of the actors for the "Naked Beauty".

My Big Picture of Nollywood is to see Nigerian movies grossing up to US$100 million globally in the next five years and to see Nollywood actors (both female and male) earning up to US$5 million for playing leading roles in big budget movies. The leading actor in my proposed first feature, "Naked Beauty" will earn US$500, 000 for her role alongside the African American A-List Hollywood actor. And she will still be under 30 years at the world premiere of the film in Europe. 

The final statement is international acquisition and distribution companies are available for the best film and TV productions from Nollywood.

And only the best is good enough for us. So, don't settle for less.

- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,

The CEO,

International Digital Post Network Limited,

Publisher/Editor,

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series,

@247nigeria Twitter,

Vuulr Program Partner,

International Acquisition and Distribution.

Drylab Ambassador for international productions,

Member, Digital Cinema Society.

"A Soldier's Story 2" Becomes First Nollywood Movie To Be Acquired by Lionsgate

"A Soldier's Story 2" Becomes First Nollywood Movie To Be Acquired by Lionsgate.

Congratulations to Nollywood for another international breakthrough in the global film industry with the acquisition of “A Soldier’s Story 2- Return from the Dead” by Lionsgate of America. The sequel to the multiple award-winning film, “A Soldier’s Story” has become the biggest acquisition of a Nigerian movie since the acquisition of "'76" at the 2016 annual Toronto International Film International (TIFF).

"A Soldier's Story 2- Return from the Dead" directed by Frankie Ogar and produced by Martin Gbados is a star-studded thriller starrying Academy Awards nominated actor, Eric Roberts with fellow Hollywood actors, John J. Vogel and Berit Glaser alongside outstanding Nigerian actors Daniel K Daniel, Alex Usifo, Akin Lewis, Segun Arinze, Linda Ejiofor, Somekele Iyamah-Idalamah, Michelle Dede,  Tope Tedela, Baaj Adeuble and Sambasa Nzeribe with popular Ghanaian actor Chris Attoh and Zimbabwean born actress/TV host, Vimbai Mutinhiri-Ekpenyong.

The film is showing on Apple iTunes, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, Comcast Xfinity, FandangoNOW, YouTube, Redbox, FlixFling, DIRECTV online and Apple TV.

I am happy about this good news, because this is the Big Picture of the future of Nollywood I predicted in the first edition of the NOLLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series published in 2013 in Raleigh, NC, USA and the movies I selected as the top 10 most anticipated Nigerian movies in the second edition in 2014 included "'76" directed by Izu Ojukwu and "Ojuju" by Fiery Obasi that later won top awards. And as I said in my TV interview on the Morning Ride of NTA2 on May 29, 2021; that with the same advanced digital cinema cameras, Nigerian filmmakers are making highly rated movies of the same quality with the best movies in Hollywood and Bollywood. 

The international competition for Nigerian film and TV productions will increase the appreciation of Nollywood in the global film industry.  The Big Picture is getting bigger and I can see Nigerian movies pulling crowds of moviegoers at the cinemas in America, the UK and other countries and among the highest grossing movies at the box office.

- By EKENYERENGOZI Michael Chima, 

Publisher/Editor, 

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series 

247 Nigeria (@247nigeria) / Twitter

https://mobile.twitter.com/247nigeria

https://www.amazon.com/author/ekenyerengozimichaelchima

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelchimaeyerengozi

OWN: THE OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK Acquires Academy Award(R)-Nominated Box Office Hit PRECIOUS from Lionsgate

OWN: THE OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK, a joint venture between Discovery Communications and Oprah Winfrey. (PRNewsFoto/Discovery Communications) SILVER SPRING, MD UNITED STATES

1 Mar 2010 18:00 Africa/Lagos

OWN: THE OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK Acquires Academy Award(R)-Nominated Box Office Hit PRECIOUS from Lionsgate

Film Has Grossed More Than $45 Million At North American Box Office and Earned Six Academy Award® Nominations, Including Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress And Best Director

LOS ANGELES, March 1 /PRNewswire/ -- OWN: THE OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK has acquired television rights to the critically acclaimed, box office hit PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE from Lionsgate (NYSE:LGF) . OWN Chief Executive Officer Christina Norman and Lionsgate Television President of Programming & Production Kevin Beggs made the announcement today. OWN has licensed the first broadcast window behind pay television beginning Summer 2012.



(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091120/PH15283LOGO )


PRECIOUS has garnered more than $45 million at the North American box office, expanded to more than 650 theatres nationwide, and earned six Academy Award® nominations including Best Picture, Best Actress (newcomer Gabourey Sidibe), Best Supporting Actress (Mo'Nique), Best Director (Lee Daniels), Best Adapted Screenplay (Geoffrey Fletcher) and Best Editing (Joe Klotz).


The film has already won a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award® for Best Supporting Actress (Mo'Nique) along with the Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award for the film (Lee Daniels, Gary Magness and Sarah Siegel-Magness), a Directors Guild nomination for Lee Daniels as Best Director and a Writers Guild nomination for Geoffrey Fletcher (Best Adapted Screenplay). Additionally, the film has been named to AFI's list of 10 best films of the year and dozens of year-end critics' 10 Best lists.


Set in 1987, PRECIOUS is a dramatic, vividly realized story of a Harlem teenager who overcomes tremendous obstacles to discover her own worth, beauty and potential. PRECIOUS is a Lee Daniels Entertainment/Smokewood Entertainment Group production presented by Lionsgate in association with Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry. The film is directed by Lee Daniels from a screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher based on the book Push, a novel by Sapphire. The film stars Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Sherri Shepherd, Lenny Kravitz and introduces Gabourey Sidibe. PRECIOUS was produced by Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness. Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Lisa Cortes and Tom Heller are Executive Producers; Simone Sheffield serves as Co-Executive Producer; Mark G. Mathis is Co-Producer; and Andrew Sforzini and Asger Hussain serves as Associate Producers.


"PRECIOUS is the perfect film for OWN," said Norman. "It's a powerful film of self-discovery and empowerment, and I know it will resonate deeply with our audience."


"OWN's licensing of PRECIOUS epitomizes our strategy of supplying quality content to cable networks hungry for fresh programming to build their brands and serve their target audiences," said Beggs. "We are pleased to be in business with OWN, and we are very proud of PRECIOUS and confident that, as its commercial success and critical recognition continue to grow, it will become an icon of our culture."


The deal includes several films from Lionsgate's vast library of more than 12,000 motion picture and television titles.


About OWN: THE OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK


A joint venture between Oprah Winfrey and Discovery Communications, OWN: THE OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK is a multi-platform media company designed to entertain, inform, and inspire people to live their best lives. OWN will debut in January 2011 in approximately 80 million homes, on what is currently the Discovery Health Channel. The venture also will include the award-winning digital platform, Oprah.com. For more information, please visit www.oprah.com/own.


About Lionsgate


Lionsgate (NYSE:LGF) is the leading next generation studio with a strong and diversified presence in the production and distribution of motion pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment, video-on-demand and digitally delivered content. The Company has built a strong television presence in production of prime time cable and broadcast network series, distribution and syndication of programming through Debmar-Mercury and an array of channel platform assets, including TV Guide Network in partnership with JPMorgan's One Equity Partners, the Epix multiplatform channel with partners Viacom and MGM, the FEARnet branded horror channel with partners Comcast and Sony, and the KIX and Thrill branded action and horror channels in Asia. Its feature film business has generated more than $400 million at the North American box office in the past year, including such recent hits as PRECIOUS, which has grossed more than $45 million at the North American box office and earned six Academy Award nominations, DAYBREAKERS and BROTHERS. The Company's home entertainment business has grown to more than 7% market share and is an industry leader in its box office-to-DVD revenue conversion rate. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 12,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate brand remains synonymous with original, daring, and quality entertainment in markets around the world.

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091120/PH15283LOGO
Source: OWN: THE OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK

CONTACT: Nicole Nichols, SVP, Communications & Strategy Communications,
OWN: THE OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK, +1-310-602-5511, or Peter D. Wilkes, SVP,
Investor Relations & Executive Communications, Lionsgate, +1-310-255-3726,
pwilkes@lionsgate.com


Web Site: OWN