Nigeria’s box office rakes in N378m in August — 28% YoY growth

The Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN) says it generated N378 million from tickets sold across cinemas in the country in August 2022.

Ope Ajayi, CEAN president, disclosed that it represented revenue growth of 28 percent, when compared to N294 million realised in August 2021.

Ajayi, however, said there was a 19 percent decline in tickets sold in August, as N471 million was generated in July.

“The 37 films shown in August realised over NGN378 million at the box office. 13 Hollywood films accounted for 72.4 percent while 16 Nollywood films made a little over 22 percent,” he said.

Ajayi said the top five highest-grossing films in August were: ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’, ‘Bullet Train’, ‘Beast’, ‘Hey you!’ and ‘League of Surpets’.

“Thor: Love and Thunder remained the highest-grossing, with N80 million in the month, which brings its lifetime revenue at Nigeria’s box office to over N350 million, as of 31st August,” he said

Ajayi said the films to be out in September were: ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’, ‘Passport’, ‘Symphony’, ‘Inside Life’, ‘Finding Ireti’, ‘The Woman King’, ‘Ticket of Life’, ‘Ticket of Paradise’, ‘Don’t Worry Darling’.

“September 2022 features two main blockbusters, ‘The Woman King’ and ‘Brotherhood’. Both have the potential to make September 2022 the best since the inception of the Nigerian box office,” he added.

“Revenues (are) projected to hit N700 million, despite the high rate of rainfall recorded in several cities, especially Lagos.

“It is set to be a bit merrier in September when the legendary Viola Davies unleashes a brilliant performance in Sony’s new high-paced epic drama/thriller, ‘The Woman King’.

“So, if the green screen lovers think they saw action at its finest last month, then, wait for what is coming from the female warriors of ancient Dahomey.”