Why Did "Avatar: The Way of Water" Fail in Nigeria?

Why Did "Avatar: The Way of Water" Fail in Nigeria?

James Cameron's awesome sci-fi epic "Avatar: The Way of Water"  has been a huge box office success, breaking multiple records, and grossing over $2.177 billion worldwide so far. It was the highest-grossing film of 2022, the highest-grossing film of the COVID-19 pandemic era, and the fourth highest-grossing film of all time. But it has failed in Nigeria grossing less than $800, 000 in 7 weeks in the country where "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" has made $2 million so far.
Why?

Poor marketing and publicity caused the failure of "Avatar: The Way of Water" in Nigeria in competition with the highest grossing Nigerian movie, Funke Akindele's " The Battle on Buka Street" that has grossed over $1 million so far in 7 weeks.

Both the local and international film distributors failed in the marketing and publicity of "Avatar: The Way of Water" in Nigeria.

General poor marketing and publicity have caused many Nigerian and foreign movies to bomb in Nigeria and not because there are not enough cinemas in the most populous country in Africa.
If "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" can make $2 million in 12 weeks in Nigeria, then "Avatar: The Way of Water" should have made over $1 million by now.

#Avatar
#avatarthewayofwater
#jamescameron
#blackpanther
#blackpantherwakandaforever
#boxoffice
#bomb
#filmdistributors
#movies
#Hollywood
#Nollywood
#cimemas
#film
#nigeria
#marketing
#media
#entertainment
#publicity
#success
#water
#africa
#covid

- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,
Publisher/Editor,
NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/michaelchimaeyerengozi_michael-ekenyerengozi-on-instagram-why-activity-7028882950041579520-2rXV?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android

Idris Elba To Build Film Studios in Ghana To Attract Hollywood

Famous British actor and director, Idris Elba recently met with the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House, during his visit to Ghana.

During the meeting with the President of Ghana discussed building a film studio in the country. 

He also urged the president to create favorable policies for filmmakers to thrive. 

He noted that he has plans to shoot a movie in Ghana. 

In a video from their meeting that has gone viral on social media, Idris Elba was seen pitching the idea of establishing a film studio in the west African country.

He noted that there is a lot of filmmaking potential that the lack of facilities has stifled. He also spoke about the importance of government policies in boosting the film sector in Africa.

“We’ve studied the models of obviously South Africa’s incredible incentive package, and around Europe, obviously, Greece, Morocco, these are all places where they realize the value of the filmmaking dollar and have brought that policy into play,” he said to the Ghanaian president.

Idris Alba during a meeting with the President of Ghana discussed building a film studio in the country. 

He also urged the president to create favorable policies for filmmakers to thrive. 

He noted that he has plans to shoot a movie in Ghana. 

The blockbuster actor revealed that he has a movie he is currently shooting and would love to shoot some parts of that movie in Ghana. He disclosed that pre-production is set for August, and principal photography would begin in December.

#IdrisElba #Ghana #SouthAfrica #Nigeria #Filmmaking #FilmStudios #filmmakers #movies #actors 

#August #filmindustry

Read more on 

https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/lifestyle/idris-elba-adds-ghana-to-list-of-african-countries-he-wants-to-partner-with/4z27x1x

Netflix Originals Won the Streaming Wars in 2022

Netflix’s "Stranger Things" taking the top slot among all series.

Netflix Originals Won the Streaming Wars in 2022 

#Netflix #streaming #movies #originals #series #viewers #streamingwars

Americans streamed more than 19 million years’ worth of content last year

Streaming services continue to gain momentum as audiences’ favored destination for content, but the past year of viewing behavior illustrates how dramatically content offerings have evolved since Netflix introduced audiences to original programming back in 2013.

Before the debut of House of Cards, the political drama series on Netflix, which was the first TV series to appear exclusively on a streaming service, virtually all other streaming content had been licensed from other sources. Perhaps viewed as an experiment or a risk by some at the time, original content has grown to become a competitive advantage for streaming services, as many original titles attracted viewers to the platforms, and in some cases, they outperformed acquired content.

In total, Americans streamed more than 19.4 million years of content last year, up 27% from about 15 million years in 2021. The increase was driven by the breadth of new and expanded services, coupled by the depth of content—particularly streaming originals. In the years following the arrival of House of Cards, annual viewership reviews would highlight the incredible support that deep libraries of acquired content would provide. That changed in 2022, as viewing minutes for top-performing original content dramatically outpaced top-performing acquired content, with Netflix’s Stranger Things taking the top slot among all series.

Read the full report on 

https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2023/streaming-unwrapped-2022-was-the-year-of-original-content/

Discover Nollywood from the NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series on Amazon Books.

Hardcover versions available by special request 

Black History Month 2023

I am keen on organizing the Nigerian premiere of "ALI'S COMEBACK: The Untold Story" to celebrate the Black History Month in Nigeria.

In 1970, Muhammad Ali has been exiled from boxing for his firm stance against the Vietnam War. stripped of his title, convicted of draft evasion. But in Atlanta that all changed. 

A diverse group of individuals came together to make sure the greatest boxer on Earth received a fair fight. 

An ambitious white attorney turned promoter, Atlanta's first Jewish mayor, and a visionary black Senator joined forces to make the impossible possible. 

"Ali's Comeback: The Untold Story" is the epic tale about the return of the greatest athlete of the 20th Century from the shadows of the boxing ring, and onto the world stage. 

Genre: Documentary 

Original Language:English 

Director: Art Jones 

Producer: Mandy Fason, Yahya McClain, Brittany Wyatt 

Release Date (Theaters): Jan 16, 2020 Limited Release Date (Streaming): Dec 1, 2020 Runtime: 1h 19m 

The Black History Month 2023 theme “Black Resistance” explores how “African Americans have resisted historic and ongoing oppression, in all forms, especially the racial terrorism of lynching, racial pogroms and police killings,” since the nation's earliest days.

Black History Month Colors and Their Meanings

Black History Month uses four colors—black, red, green and yellow—to symbolize unity and pride. Each of the four colors has its own distinct meaning and significance.

The colors of Black History Month are also the colors of many African flags which have been derived from the Ethiopian flag as well as the Pan-African flag. Each set has three colors—Ethiopia uses the colors red, yellow and green which are used to represent the rainbow, and the Pan-African flag contains the colors red, black and green.

The Pan-African flag was created in 1920 to represent the unity of African people no matter where they live, and to symbolize Black liberation in the United States. The Ethiopian flag was inspired by the rainbow and is used by several of the other 53 African countries.

color of the luxuriant vegetation of our Motherland."

Black - Represents the resilient people whose existence as a nation is honored and affirmed by the existence of a flag.

Red - Symbolizes the blood of innocent Black lives that has been shed throughout history.

Yellow - Stands for optimism, justice and equality for everyone.

Green - Symbolizes Africa's rich greenery and other natural resources.

Role Playing in Rehearsal for a Crime Drama

Role Playing in Rehearsal for a Crime Drama

Here I am role playing in rehearsal for a dare devil character for a crime drama. 

I used my cellphone to record it yesterday, Wednesday February 2, 2023. 

I am still looking years younger than my age mates after celebrating my Diamond birthday on Monday, January 30.  Psalm 103:5 is my testimony. Almighty God truly renews my youth like the eagle's to fly to higher grounds of greater heights of triumph.

Cheers!

- Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima

Thank Very Much Brother Femi

Dear Brother Femi,
I woke up at about 2.10am on my☀️ 💎birthday to receive the first message on my phone. And I am very glad and grateful to Almighty God for giving me this generous gift from your heart. 

It is more than enough for me to cut my first birthday cake with thanks to Almighty God JEHOVAH JIREH for many happier returns for the day with beautiful long life and more prosperity.

Honestly, heaven knows that every seed you have sown into my life since I have known you has yielded a big harvest in my faith and growth.
For the generous gift of a great man is a blessing for greatness.

Thank you very much.
I am forever grateful.

Faithfully,
Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima💓💥🌟🎆🏑📽️🎬📸📺🎻📀🎉

#God #JESUSChrist  #HolySpirit #gift #life #love #Birthday #Thanksgivings #celebration #grateful #greatness #happiness #gratitude 

2023 Oscars Nominations

2023 Oscars Nominations: See the Full List

A new class of Oscar nominees has been unveiled. On Tuesday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, with special hosts Riz Ahmed and Allison Williams, announced nominations for the 95th Oscars. Everything Everywhere All at Once is the year's most-nominated film, with 11 total nominations, including Best Picture, Best Directing, and four acting nominations. All Quiet on the Western Front and The Banshees of Inisherin follow with nine nominations apiece.

Winners will be announced during the 95th Oscars on Sunday, March 12. Jimmy Kimmel is hosting the ceremony, which will be televised from the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and air live on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide.

Here is the complete list of nominees in every category:

Best Picture

All Quiet on the Western Front (Netflix)

Malte Grunert, Producer

Avatar: The Way of Water (20th Century Studios)

James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers

The Banshees of Inisherin (Searchlight Pictures)

Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin and Martin McDonagh, Producers

Elvis (Warner Bros)

Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Gail Berman, Patrick McCormick and Schuyler Weiss, Producers

Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24)

Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert and Jonathan Wang, Producers

The Fabelmans (Universal Pictures)

Kristie Macosko Krieger, Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner, Producers

Tár (Focus Features)

Todd Field, Alexandra Milchan and Scott Lambert, Producers

Top Gun: Maverick (Paramount Pictures)

Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, David Ellison and Jerry Bruckheimer, Producers

Triangle of Sadness (NEON)

Erik Hemmendorff and Philippe Bober, Producers

Women Talking (United Artists Releasing/Orion Pictures)

Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Frances McDormand, Producers

Actor in a Leading Role

Austin Butler in Elvis

Colin Farrell in The Banshees of Inisherin

Brendan Fraser in The Whale

Paul Mescal in Aftersun

Bill Nighy in Living

Actor in a Supporting Role

Brendan Gleeson in The Banshees of Inisherin

Brian Tyree Henry in Causeway

Judd Hirsch in The Fabelmans

Barry Keoghan in The Banshees of Inisherin

Ke Huy Quan in Everything Everywhere All at Once

Actress in a Leading Role

Cate Blanchett in Tár

Ana de Armas in Blonde

Andrea Riseborough in To Leslie

Michelle Williams in The Fabelmans

Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All at Once

Actress in a Supporting Role

Angela Bassett in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Hong Chau in The Whale

Kerry Condon in The Banshees of Inisherin

Jamie Lee Curtis in Everything Everywhere All at Once

Stephanie Hsu in Everything Everywhere All at Once

Animated Feature Film

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio

Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson, Gary Ungar and Alex Bulkley

Marcel the Shell With Shoes On

Dean Fleischer Camp, Elisabeth Holm, Andrew Goldman, Caroline Kaplan and Paul Mezey

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

Joel Crawford and Mark Swift

The Sea Beast

Chris Williams and Jed Schlanger

Turning Red

Domee Shi and Lindsey Collins

Cinematography

All Quiet on the Western Front

James Friend

Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths

Darius Khondji

Elvis

Mandy Walker

Empire of Light

Roger Deakins

Tár

Florian Hoffmeister

Costume Design

Babylon

Mary Zophres

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Ruth Carter

Elvis

Catherine Martin

Everything Everywhere All at Once

Shirley Kurata

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris

Jenny Beavan

Directing

Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin (Searchlight Pictures)

Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24)

Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans (Universal Pictures)

Todd Field, Tár (Focus Features)

Ruben Östlund, Triangle of Sadness (NEON)

Documentary Feature Film

All That Breathes

Shaunak Sen, Aman Mann and Teddy Leifer

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

Laura Poitras, Howard Gertler, John Lyons, Nan Goldin and Yoni Golijov

Fire of Love

Sara Dosa, Shane Boris and Ina Fichman

A House Made of Splinters

Simon Lereng Wilmont and Monica Hellström

Navalny

Daniel Roher, Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller and Shane Boris

Documentary Short Film

The Elephant Whisperers

Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga

Haulout

Evgenia Arbugaeva and Maxim Arbugaev

How Do You Measure a Year?

Jay Rosenblatt

The Martha Mitchell Effect

Anne Alvergue and Beth Levison

Stranger at the Gate

Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones

Film Editing

The Banshees of Inisherin

Mikkel E.G. Nielsen

Elvis

Matt Villa and Jonathan Redmond

Everything Everywhere All at Once

Paul Rogers

Tár

Monika Willi

Top Gun: Maverick

Eddie Hamilton

International Feature Film

All Quiet on the Western Front

Germany

Argentina, 1985

Argentina

Close

Belgium

EO

Poland

The Quiet Girl

Ireland

Makeup and Hairstyling

All Quiet on the Western Front

Heike Merker and Linda Eisenhamerová

The Batman

Naomi Donne, Mike Marino and Mike Fontaine

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Camille Friend and Joel Harlow

Elvis

Mark Coulier, Jason Baird and Aldo Signoretti

The Whale

Adrien Morot, Judy Chin and Anne Marie Bradley

Music (Original Score)

All Quiet on the Western Front

Volker Bertelmann

Babylon

Justin Hurwitz

The Banshees of Inisherin

Carter Burwell

Everything Everywhere All at Once

Son Lux

 The Fabelmans

John Williams

Music (Original Song)

"Applause" from Tell It like a Woman

Music and Lyric by Diane Warren

"Hold My Hand" from Top Gun: Maverick

Music and Lyric by Lady Gaga and BloodPop

"Lift Me Up" from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Music by Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Goransson; Lyric by Tems and Ryan Coogler

"Naatu Naatu" from RRR

Music by M.M. Keeravaani; Lyric by Chandrabose

"This Is A Life" from Everything Everywhere All at Once

Music by Ryan Lott, David Byrne and Mitski; Lyric by Ryan Lott and David Byrne

Production Design

All Quiet on the Western Front

Production Design: Christian M. Goldbeck; Set Decoration: Ernestine Hipper

Avatar: The Way of Water

Production Design: Dylan Cole and Ben Procter; Set Decoration: Vanessa Cole

Babylon

Production Design: Florencia Martin; Set Decoration: Anthony Carlino

Elvis

Production Design: Catherine Martin and Karen Murphy; Set Decoration: Bev Dunn

The Fabelmans

Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Karen O'Hara

Animated Short Film

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse

Charlie Mackesy and Matthew Freud

The Flying Sailor

Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

Ice Merchants

João Gonzalez and Bruno Caetano

My Year of Dicks

Sara Gunnarsdóttir and Pamela Ribon

An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It

Lachlan Pendragon

Live Action Short Film

An Irish Goodbye

Tom Berkeley and Ross White

Ivalu

Anders Walter and Rebecca Pruzan

Le Pupille

Alice Rohrwacher and Alfonso Cuarón

Night Ride

Eirik Tveiten and Gaute Lid Larssen

The Red Suitcase

Cyrus Neshvad

Sound

All Quiet on the Western Front

Viktor Prášil, Frank Kruse, Markus Stemler, Lars Ginzel and Stefan Korte

Avatar: The Way of Water

Julian Howarth, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Dick Bernstein, Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers and Michael Hedges

The Batman

Stuart Wilson, William Files, Douglas Murray and Andy Nelson

 Elvis

David Lee, Wayne Pashley, Andy Nelson and Michael Keller

Top Gun: Maverick

Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor

Visual Effects

All Quiet on the Western Front

Frank Petzold, Viktor Müller, Markus Frank and Kamil Jafar

Avatar: The Way of Water

Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett

The Batman

Dan Lemmon, Russell Earl, Anders Langlands and Dominic Tuohy

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Geoffrey Baumann, Craig Hammack, R. Christopher White and Dan Sudick

Top Gun: Maverick

Ryan Tudhope, Seth Hill, Bryan Litson and Scott R. Fisher

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

All Quiet on the Western Front

Screenplay by Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson & Ian Stokell

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Written by Rian Johnson

Living

Written by Kazuo Ishiguro

Top Gun: Maverick

Screenplay by Ehren Kruger and Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie; Story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks

Women Talking

Screenplay by Sarah Polley

Writing (Original Screenplay)

The Banshees of Inisherin

Written by Martin McDonagh

Everything Everywhere All at Once

Written by Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert

The Fabelmans

Written by Steven Spielberg & Tony Kushner

Tár

Written by Todd Field

Triangle of Sadness

Written by Ruben Östlund

TAGS

OSCARS

https://aframe.oscars.org/news/post/2023-oscars-nominations-full-listhttps://aframe.oscars.org/news/post/2023-oscars-nominations-full-list

Partech Africa Report: Resilient African Tech Ecosystem Still Growing with $6.5 Billion Raised in 2022

PRESS RELEASE

Presenting the 2022 Partech Africa Report: Resilient African Tech Ecosystem Still Growing with $6.5 Billion Raised in 2022

Partech Africa, the VC fund dedicated to technology startups in Africa, has issued its annual report on Africa Tech Venture Capital

DAKAR, Senegal, January 24, 2023/ -- Amid the drastic pullback in global VC funding, the African tech ecosystem stands out with +8% growth from 2021. Debt funding doubled in volume to $1.5B, accounting for nearly a quarter of the total funding. Fintech, still leading, attracted 39% of the total equity volume; Nigeria retained the top spot with 23%

Partech Africa, the VC fund dedicated to technology startups in Africa, has issued its annual report on Africa Tech Venture Capital. The report, which aims to provide a practical picture of the state of the ecosystem, revealed that despite the global VC downturn, the African tech ecosystem grew faster than all other markets globally. 

Total funding invested into tech startups on the continent reached $6.5B, an increase of 8% vs 2021, spread across 764 deals - compared to 724 rounds in 2021. The report, consisting of disclosed and confidential deals, saw debt funding more than double in volume, reaching $1.55 billion through 71 deals [65% YoY growth]. In comparison, equity rounds showed a slight decline, as 653 African tech startups raised $4.9B [-6%] in 693 equity rounds [2% YoY growth].

Focusing on the equity funding, the report revealed the ecosystem was still accelerating during Q1 and Q2 of 2022 compared to 2021, with the YoY comparison showing Q1 and Q2 at +127% YoY and +83% YoY, respectively. However, the global VC slowdown stifled growth in activity in Q3 [-65% YoY] and Q4 [-35% YoY]. In 2022, fundraising activities remained flat across all stages. At $1.4M, Seed+ ticket sizes averaged higher in 2022 [+12% YoY], while Series A remained the same at $8.5M. Later stages reverted to 2019 levels, as Series B and Growth round sizes dropped by -23% and -50% YoY, respectively. In addition, 2022 witnessed a significant reduction in the number of megadeals [over 100M], with only seven deals compared to 14 in 2021.

Speaking on the launch of the annual report, Tidjane Deme, General Partner at Partech, said: "2022 was a particularly challenging year for the venture ecosystem worldwide, as venture and growth investors scaled back their investment by a third. However, by comparison, our report revealed the African tech ecosystem showed great resilience, as more investors have doubled their commitment to the continent by investing in local teams and funds dedicated to the market, which is proving to be the best way forward.”

Overall, Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt and Kenya remain the top investment destinations in Africa, with a share of total volume staying relatively steady at 72%. Nigeria retained the top rank, bringing in  $1.2B in capital, despite a decline of 36% from 2021; South Africa, Egypt, and Kenya each attracted over $0.7B in funding, with Ghana completing the top 5 with just over $0.2B. Overall, 28 countries attracted equity funding in 2022, 13 of them in Francophone Africa..

In light of the market downturn, the report’s findings also revealed that Fintech, which has historically attracted sizable investments, was the most impacted by the slowdown in the number of large rounds. However, fintech remains the most funded sector in Africa, and this across all sources of capital, with 39% of the total equity volume [$1.9B] and 45% of the total debt volume [$691M]. Other sectors have experienced substantial growth and gained a meaningful share of the equity funding activity this year, most notably Cleantech, which made a big comeback with 18% of total equity funding at $863M [+347% YoY] but also 39% of the total debt funding at $605M. 

The report's findings also show:

Female-founded startups raised 22% of all equity rounds in 2022, up 2 percentage points from 20% in 2021. They also contributed $644 Million or 13% of the total equity funding, down 3 percentage points from 16% in 2021.

Outside of the top 4 countries, Ghana ($202 million), Algeria ($150 million), Tunisia ($117 million) and Senegal ($105 million) were the only other countries that broke the $100M funding mark.

Despite a slowdown in the growth rate of equity investors, Africa’s tech ecosystem attracted 1,149 unique investors for the first time [+29% YoY in 2021]. African tech has seen more investors committed, with 89 participating in 5 or more deals (compared to 65 investors in 2021).

The number of debt investors active on the continent is growing 2.5x YoY, with a good mix of local debt institutions, international lenders with emerging market vehicles and Development Finance Institutions.

Cyril Collon, General Partner at Partech, added: “Much of our methodology has remained the same over the years, and we, therefore, can provide a snapshot of how the African continent has evolved over the years. Nigerian and the fintech vertical have remained at the top spot; however, in an environment where equity funding is more challenging, debt has proved to be a solid alternative source of African tech startups in 2022, which signals a maturity within each sector.”

Headquartered in Dakar, Partech Africa is the largest VC fund dedicated to technology startups in Africa. With a focus on Late Seed, Series A and B equity rounds in startups which are changing the way technology is used across multiple sectors, including education, mobility, finance and healthcare, the VC has, to date, invested in 17 African startups, such as Wave (http://bit.ly/3J9lGqy) and TradeDepot (http://bit.ly/3R2IgD9). Using the same methodology as previous years, the seventh Partech Africa annual report on African tech start-ups only includes equity rounds where the total amount is higher than US$200K.

To download the full ‘2022 Africa Tech Venture Capital’ report, click here (https://bit.ly/3R5mChF).

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Partech Partners.

For media inquiries:

Isabelle Tresson: +33 7 86 08 85 85

itresson@partechpartners.com

About Partech Africa:

Headquartered in Dakar, Senegal, Partech Africa is the largest VC fund dedicated to technology startups in Africa. Partech Africa focuses on series A and B equity rounds in startups which are changing the way technology is used in education, mobility, finance, healthcare, delivery, energy, etc.

About Partech:

Born in San Francisco 40 years ago and now headquartered in Paris, Partech is one of the most active tech investors in the world, bringing together capital, operational experience, and strategic support for entrepreneurs at seed, venture and growth stages. The company manages more than €2.5B and its current portfolio includes 210 companies in 40 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the US.

www.PartechPartners.com

SOURCE

Partech Partners

Is Nollywood Really Booming?

Is Nollywood Really Booming?

The sociocultural phenomenon of the guerilla filmmakers of Nollywood, the first indie film industry in Africa has been attracting global attention making news headlines of the foreign news media since the early 1990s and making the stars of the low budget movies household names across Africa.  "Nollywood is booming" echoed from the street to the internet and on the popular cable TV channels called Africa Magic on DStv and GOtv of the MultiChoice Group of South Africa. 

According to a widely circulated report since 2020:

Nigeria’s film industry contributed 2.3% and about 239 billion naira ($660 million) to the GDP and projects that the industry will increase its export revenue earnings to over $1 billion. The motion picture and music recording industry exceeded 2020 projected $806 million revenue contributing about 730 billion naira ($1.8 billion) to the country’s GDP.

The country’s television and video market grew by 7.49% to $806 million in 2020, up from $732 million in 2018. The industry is projected to earn about $900 million in 2023. The market is driven by subscription revenue, which accounted for 72.26% of total revenue in 2018. TV advertising accounts for 21.31% of total revenue.

https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/nigeria-media-and-entertainment

With other similar reports; to the foreign news media, Nollywood, the Nigerian film industry is booming with references to the success stories of DStv, GOtv and Showmax of the MultiChoice Group; the increasing numbers of cinemas with all the highest grossing Nollywood movies in the box office making millions of dollars annually since 2016; the exciting attractions of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and other OTT platforms with hundreds of thousands of subscribers. But the fact is; Nollywood is not among the 10 biggest film industries in the world by box office revenues, TV budgets and revenues. 

Nollywood no longer produces the often reported over 2, 000 movies annually used to rank it as the second largest film industry in the world after Bollywood of India and ahead of Hollywood of America. Since the COVID-19 pandemic with the consequences of the lockdowns and restrictions of physical contact with others at work, productions of movies and TV series have reduced in Nigeria.

Nollywood is not the biggest film industry in Africa. 

South Africa has the biggest film industry on the continent with the biggest and largest film distributors and exhibitors; including the popular Durban Film Mart, Cape Town International Film Market and Festival and MIP Africa. The biggest GSM telecom network in Nigeria is MTN from South Africa used by the majority of Nigerians for data to use the internet and the MultiChoice Group of South Africa is the biggest and largest cable TV network in Nigeria. 

The local private and public TV stations in Nigeria cannot compete with the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and other broadcasting services of South Africa in the entertainment industry.

The reports that Nigeria has the biggest film industry in Africa are  false.

Nollywood is booming continues to be echoing and repeated in the news reports, but the realities are different inside Nigeria.

Behind the showtimes of the cinemas in the big shopping malls of Lagos and other states; behind the glitz and razzmatazz of the red carpets of the premieres of movies and international film festivals in Nollywood; majority of the filmmakers with their casts and crews are struggling and suffering to make ends meet. Majority of them cannot afford brand new cars or SUVs and cannot afford to build or buy houses. 

Dozens of practitioners suffered and passed on in Nollywood last year 2022, but only the famous ones made news whilst the unknown ones passed away unsung. Many of them could not pay their medical bills.

Many of those who survived the critical financial challenges only survived by divine interventions of Almighty God through various means, including the kindness of several "Good Samaritans" who gave them helping hands to rescue them from their misery.

I had a catalog of movies, TV series and documentaries of the best quality, but all the TV channels in Nigeria could not afford to pay for the TV rights as low as US$750 per movie or episode for two years. They cannot even afford to produce content of premium quality and the employees are underpaid.

There is no single film and TV market in Nigeria and no film commission, except the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) without a film commissioner. 

The NFC does not know that there should be a film commission in every state in the country, including Abuja. 

Nollywood is far from booming, because even the fortunate ones among the filmmakers who  produced the highest grossing movies and series acquired by Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Showmax and other major foreign film acquisition and distribution companies have not become multimillionaires in dollars like their counterparts in Hollywood. 

None of the highest grossing Nollywood movies made up to US$2 million.  

The Hollywood blockbuster "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" has become the first film to make N1 Billion from the box office in Nigeria and one billion naira is less than US$2 million by the  current exchange rate of the dollar to the naira of $1 for N730. $1m is about N730 million. 

A movie in a booming film industry by global valuation should be making millions of dollars within three weeks and not struggling to make two million dollars within three months of the theatrical release. Nigeria does not have up to 300 screens and the population of the country is over 200 million, the largest in Africa. Exhibitors spend millions of dollars annually on recurrent expenditures of the cinemas in a country without regular power supply for electricity and they have to use big industrial generators with daily supply of diesel or petrol. There are days a cinema will not have up to 20 moviegoers and the generator will be used for power supply for screenings without interruptions.

I don't envy the exhibitors and investors. 

Uber is making more money in Nigeria than all the members of the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN).  

It is better, richer and safer to invest in an urban taxi transport service in the country than to invest in having cinemas in Nigeria. And guess what? An Urban taxi cabs service can still make money from Nollywood without sweat. How?

Nollywood creates thousands of jobs, but over 90 percent of these jobs are not permanent, because the jobs end once the production of a movie ends. Many of the  actors have to fast and pray to get new roles in the next productions. Majority of the actors, cameramen, camerawomen, gaffers and others are among the lowest paid employees in Nigeria. Their incomes cannot make ends meet for them and their dependants without any social welfare and without any insurance policy. 

Nollywood is still a developing film industry with multiple streams of incomes. But the lack of structure is hampering the economic growth.

Movie merchandise and film tourism are still unexplored sectors of Nollywood which can be avenues to create permanent jobs for many people and increase the revenues from the film industry. 

- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,

Publisher/Editor,

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series,

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NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series 

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High Cost of Data is Still a Big Challenge for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and other Streaming Services in Africa

High Cost of Data is Still a Big Challenge for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and other Streaming Services in Africa

The cost of 1GB of data, enough for one hour of video streaming, is between $1.50 and $30 in Africa.

Subscribers spend more on data than subscription fees for Netflix and Amazon Prime Video on the continent. Showmax of the MultiChoice Group is Available to all the millions of subscribers to DStv, but majority of the populations in African countries cannot afford DStv. 

The cost of data can be reduced by all the telecoms in Africa with fast internet connection. 10GB should not cost more than $1 which is between N500 and N750 in the current exchange rate of the USD to the Naira in Nigeria, the largest market on the continent. 

My suggestion is Netflix and Amazon Prime Video should also be available offline on cable TV channels to attract everyone who can afford to pay the subscription to the cable TV channels for only $2 monthly.

What matters most in entertainment are four things I call QAAA:

1. Quality of the content

2. Availability of the content

3. Accessibility to the content

4. Affordability of the content.

The content must be of good Quality; Available, Accessible and Affordable.

- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,
Publisher/Editor,
NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series,
International content development and marketing consultant.
@Vuulr Program Partner
@Cinewav Affiliate Partner

#1 On Top 20 Movies for the Valentine

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