Nigerian Cinemas vs Streaming Platforms

ROTIMI IGE and JANE NJOKU, in this article, x-ray the competition posed to Nigerian cinemas by online streaming platforms, how both can affect or collaborate with one another, and how the entertainment industry benefits from both worlds.

Since the golden era (after Nigeria’s independence) when movies were more of a communal experience watched with relish at popular spots and night clubs; thanks to reels provided then by 7Up bottling company, to its reformed outlook in 2019, the Nigerian cinema scene has always been one with the capacity to reinvent itself.

While it has made giant strides in the movie industry both home and abroad, its golden era set the precedence for the new age Nigerian cinemas, as it was the first time that it took back rights to its creativity from the colonial masters. This was the time when veteran theatre practitioners like Hubert Ogunde and Moses Olaiya made their debut onto the big screen, and cinemas houses grew popular in Nigeria with Lagos having 12 and Ibadan with three.

And as it evolved, after suffering a minor setback due to the introduction of ‘direct to video’ media which audiences saw as a more convenient means for watching movies, the golden era died off giving way to a more professional new Nollywood era which revolutionised the way movies where interpreted, offered more budgets, production values, and new strategies to struggling filmmakers. The Silverbird Group launched the first series of modern cinema houses across major cities in Nigeria, followed by others, such as Genesis Deluxe, Filmhouse, Viva, and Ozone cinemas.

This new Nollywood era attracted its unique group of filmmakers and tried to draw in an erstwhile unwilling audience to cinemas. Kunle Afolayan’s Figurine, an instant success both on international and local scenes became a forerunner of sorts for the rejuvenation of the bloom of cinemas in Nigeria, as other astounding movies like The Wedding Party, New Money, Alter Ego, Dinner, Mr.&Mrs., Phone Swap, Last Flight to Abuja, 10 Days in Suncity, and Irapada followed suit, grossing in hundreds of millions innaira at the box office.

By the end of 2019, the cinema rave swept through the country and Nigerians across major cities, and according to statistics from the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN), film lovers had already spent over two billion naira to watch the local movies. The report showed that movies like Ramsey Noah’s Living in Bondage: Breaking Free)had viewers spend N158.43 million on it, Chief Daddy by Niyi Akinmolayan earned N153.51 million, Ayo Makun’s Merry Men 2, Bolanle Austen-Peters’ Bling Lagosians, and Funke Akindele’s Your Excellency, all raked in N141.15 million, N120.13 million, and N115.36 million respectively from dedicated viewers.

The new and improved cinema culture in Nigeria, preceded a significant advancement for Nollywood movie producers who grew confident with their decisions to invest more in the industry since it offered them a safer, more economical, and viable alternative to direct to video; seeing as they had already lost the bulk of their investments to pirates. Nollywood actors, specifically the popular screen sellers, amongst other industry professionals benefitted from the boom as well, as more jobs came in regularly.

Cinema had finally made its mark in the Nigerian Nollywood industry, the profits and accolades were coming in, viewers of the movies they put out trooped in, the wheels were turning well, until the world’s most unexpected pandemic struck, and they were forced to stop temporarily.

By the end of February 2020, the dangers of the Covid-19 pandemic became more pronounced and the entertainment industry went from fresh blooming to one of the worst hit economies. A report by CEAN disclosed that cinemas in Nigeria lost 30 per cent of their weekend revenues from January and 30.65 per cent more between January and March 2020. And due to their nature of operation which hosted numerous viewers in an enclosed space, were forced to shut down indefinitely. The closure caused film production and viewing to be cancelled and production crews working on different sets across the country had to stop and postpone work.

The various guilds in the industry – Directors Guild of Nigeria (DGN), Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Theatre Arts and Motion Picture Producers Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN) and Multichoice Nigeria placed embargo on any production activity indeterminately, forcing actors, producers, musicians, and other stakeholders in the business of entertainment to stay indoors as well, as they tried to find ways to stay relevant in their art now that no one was going out to see movies.

Then came Netflix and Amazon, two of the largest movies and film online streaming giants in the world. Netflix was first introduced to Nigerian filmmakers when it acquired in 2018 Genevieve Nnaji’s directorial debut film Lionheart and moved on to Kemi Adetiba’s The Wedding Party II, the sequel to The Wedding Party which was already a 1.5 million dollars hit in cinemas across Nigeria.

Netflix was the online movie streaming platform that first dug into the Nigerian movie industry’s pocket and grew thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic which forced cinemas to shut their doors. Where actual cinemas fell short, Netflix became a make-shift virtual cinema which enabled Nigerian filmmakers to upload and promote their best works following its licensing deal, at a time when everyone was quarantining inside and could no longer turn to cinemas for a good distraction.

Nigerians’ film watching activities on Netflix during the lockdown tripled, and this time they were introduced to a new style of streaming. By the first wave of the March 2020 COVID lockdown, people could watch Nigerian productions by their favorite filmmakers, and multiple genres from other countries as well all at once with just a click for reasonable subscription prices.

It became the new cinema, and this time went the extra mile by giving viewers access to movies both in Nigeria and globally on personal screens, and pacifying filmmakers by promoting their works on a global platform, on a much larger scale. Filmmakers whose works surpassed expectations on Netflix, were reached out for commentaries, co-productions, partnerships, and it provided the opportunity for stories on controversial topics like Kenneth Gyang’s 2020 hit Oloture to be told freely.

The COVID-19 pandemic left cinemas shaken to its core, and while they try to bounce back a year later, following the relaxation of the lockdown restrictions, it is apparent that streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon have come to stay, even with the cinema houses reopening across Nigeria. Netflix, according to varied reviews, is being seen as the go-to platform for watching block buster Nigerian movies, and the recent release of Kemi Adetiba’s King of Boys II: The Return of The King, exclusively on Netflix after the King of Boys I movie was previously shown in Nigerian cinemas may prove this.

And as more streaming platforms like Showmax continue to emerge, the Nigerian cinema, according to entertainment critic, Wale Olatunde, may find itself put on the same category with platforms it can no longer compete with, and instead can/should learn to collaborate with. Osita Obiokonji, manager at Filmhouse Cinemas while speaking to Friday Treat about how pandemic had affected the industry and how he viewed the involvement of streaming platforms like Amazon and Netflix said:

“Covid-19 hit the sector of entertainment and did not skip cinema industry the impact will not downplay; I will like you to look at it this way cinemas need footfalls to keep afloat and we are hit with the situation where you are not allowed to keep above the minimal number of guests within each of the auditorium (screen).

Netflix and Amazon boom when the cinemas were grounded, and they serve as alternative. But what you cannot take away is the experience you have watching your movie in a big screen and social networking, other mouthwatering cinema food and so on can’t be of same experience with watching at home on VOD. The two platforms are technically independent of their own each is not affecting each other against most of the people opinions”.

For people in the entertainment industry, the emergence of streaming platforms could not have come at a better time. According to Oluyomi Hassan, a movie analyst, “Cinemas indeed, helped grow the Nigerian film industry and continues to create unique opportunities for stakeholders. However, with the entrance of heavyweights like Netflix, who are now actively sponsoring film making as seen with King of Boys sequel and Castle and Castle 2, they will likely take a huge share of cinema profits and patronage because of the convenience they offer by eliminating the need to go out to cinemas. But, as data speed and costs remain a challenge in the country, cinemas will continue to thrive especially with foreign movies which primarily still debut and require box office figures. I think the competition is good for the industry and stakeholders will be better for it”.

While consumers of these platforms continue to enjoy the best of both worlds, getting premium entertainment in the process, it remains to be seen if the economic benefits of either of the cinema industry in Nigeria or the streaming platforms will be adversely affected on the long run.

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