Niyi Akinmolayan Advocates For 100 New Cinemas To Strengthen Nollywood Distribution

Renowned filmmaker Niyi Akinmolayan has proposed a new distribution model for the Nigerian film industry, Nollywood, advocating for a major expansion of cinema infrastructure.

On his Instagram page, Akinmolayan, who has been lending his voice on the state of movie distribution in the country, highlighted the struggles of streaming platforms, noting the number of companies that have exited Nigeria.

He pointed out that since the inception of Silverbird Cinemas, the cinema business has experienced steady growth, successfully sailing through several challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, and insecurity.

The filmmaker questioned why more cinemas have not been built, especially as they appear to be the most reliable distribution channel at the moment. He called for a strategic restructuring of the cinema model, suggesting the development of 100 new locations across the country within the next two years to make the model more scalable and commercially viable.

He wrote: "A lot of streaming companies and ideas have come and gone. But since Silverbird Cinemas opened at the Galleria, the cinema business has been growing.. the numbers increase yearly. They've faced COVID, inflation, insecurity?... why aren't we building more cinemas. Growth might be slow and maybe margins not so great (only they can tell us) but it looks like the only distribution model that's working and can be scaled. Discuss!.

"Maybe a completely new way to structure them so they are more commercially viable (no need for big fancy malls for example)... but this streaming wars has just been creating casualties. I don't know sha.. but i think there's a case to be made for an investment into 100 new cinemas across the country in the next two years."