Lagos, June 6, 2023 – Nigerian film makers realised N514.7 million from ticket sales in May, a drop by N52 million from the N566 million realised in April.
Mr Opeyemi Ajayi, the National Chairman of Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN), said this in Lagos on Tuesday.
He attributed the decline in revenue to the impact of naira scarcity, general cash crunch, poor internet services and the limited movies released during the election period.
Ajayi expressed confidence that members would realise increased revenue in June due to the arrival of news films.
“A couple of reasons are responsible for the drop in sales. We lost a weekend of sales during the Presidential and National Assembly elections, and Nigerians’ attention was focused on voting across the country.
“Cash crunch and POS failures which affected trading generally, also affected the cinemas.
“Many movie producers and distributors avoided releasing movies during the election period. So, the content was also somewhat limited,” he said.
“A total of 197,242 patrons also bought tickets at the box office in May, showing a decline of 23,539 when compared with the 220,781 tickets sold in April.
“For the month of May, we were able to generate N514,653,363 with 197,242 viewers’ admission.
“Cinema lovers can look forward to memorable times this June as there would be first-rate films.” (GBN)
