That the phenomenon of Nollywood has gained global recognition is a fact. But Nollywood is still lacking the required structure for competition in the global film industry and lagging behind South Africa, Egypt and Morocco.
I have addressed the shortcomings of Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry measured with the criteria for the international development of a film industry. These shortcomings are why Nigeria is not among the top 10 countries with the biggest film industries in the world.
Top 10 Film Industries
1. Hollywood Movie Industry
2. Bollywood Film Industry
3. Chinese Cinema
4. United Kingdom of Great Britain
5. Japanese Cinema
6. Cinema in South Korea
7. France
8. German cinema
9. Australia
10. Mexico
The constant emphasis on the large volume of movies produced annually making Nollywood the second largest producer of movies in the world after the Bollywood of India and ahead of Hollywood of the United States of America is not enough without film commissions and film markets.
Having the largest market is different from having the biggest economy.
South Africa has the biggest film industry in Africa and not Nigeria based on the annual revenues of the film industry from the box office, international co-productions, TV networks, movie merchandise and film tourism.
South Africa has the largest cinemas of the biggest film distribution and exhibition companies in Africa.
South Africa has film commissions which Nigeria does not have.
South Africa has a film market which Nigeria does not have.
South Africa has the biggest cable TV industry in Africa with MultiChoice which Nigeria does not have.
The Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) is hyped as the largest TV network in Africa, but running a deficit annually and cannot even pay salaries without revenue allocations from the Nigerian government.
In terms of quality of TV productions, the NTA does not have local content of international standards compared to the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) that has been producing content attracting international acquisition and distribution.
The criteria for the international branding of Nollywood for the highly competitive global film industry include the top priorities of having world class international film festivals to attract the participation of the best filmmakers; international co-producers; film acquisition and distribution companies and for the promotions of movie merchandise and film tourism.
Presently among the few film festivals in Nigeria, only the annual Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) is rated as the best international film festival attracting some of the best filmmakers in the world with the potentials of having an international film market like the Durban FilmMart of the Durban International Film Festival in South Africa.
AFRIFF made international news headlines in November, 2022 for cohosting the African premiere of "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever", the 2022 American superhero film produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
My articles on how Nollywood can make the Nigerian film industry a multibillion dollar film industry through the opportunities for movie merchandise and film tourism have been published and widely circulated online. But the Nigerian government and the private sector are ignorant of the huge economic benefits.
The Global TV and Movie Merchandise Market is forecast to grow by $90.53 Billion during 2022-2027, accelerating at a CAGR of 9.04% during the forecast period.
Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros, Huayi Brothers, Enlight Media, Lionsgate Films, NBC Universal, Nickelodeon, TOEI COMPANY, Alpha Group, The Walt Disney Company, Twentieth Century Fox and Toho Company are the key copyright owners in the global Movie Merchandise market. The top 5 took up about 66 Percent of the global market. USA is the largest consumption regions of Movie Merchandise in the world in the past few years and it will keep increasing in the next few years. USA market took up about 50 Percent the global market, while Europe was 25 Percent, and China is followed with the share about 6 Percent.
Nigeria has awesome attractions for film tourism which I have been promoting with the publication of the NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series since 2013 to show the beauty of Nollywood in family friendly books to attract people worldwide.
My popular article, "The Best Film Locations in Nigeria" has attracted thousands of readers with over 17, 000 readers on TripAdvisor.
Nollywood has attracted Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney and other leading international American film and TV production and streaming companies.
The best film locations in Nigeria should be developed as international tourist attractions like the Obudu Ranch in Cross River State. Holiday resorts and hotels should be built on the locations for filmmakers and tourists.
What is the value of the global film tourism market?
There are models for templates for the international branding of Nollywood for the global film industry which I have shown with the references to South Africa.
By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,
Publisher/Editor,
NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series,
Executive Producer,
Screen Naija YouTube Channel,
Vuulr Program Partner
Cinewav Partner
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