Taking a
cue from the huge attendance at cinemas across the country, occasioned by a
growing middle-class with increasing disposable income, investors in the
entertainment industry are pooling resources to build cinemas in areas of high
demand.
Industry pioneers, Silverbird
Cinemas and Genesis Deluxe Cinema, among others, have so far invested over N10
billion in the big screen business.
Harold Igbenusa, a building and
project management consultant, says it takes about N200 million to build a
standard cinema, and about N50 million to establish a standard big screen
including rent, rights and technical partnerships.
But as high as the cost of building
a cinema and technical partnerships is, the high return on investment (ROI) in
the business, according to Igbenusa, is wooing most of the recent investments.
It is this high return on
investment, Igbenusa says, that inspired Silverbird Cinemas, which started in
2004 with its Victoria Island, Lagos outlet, to expand beyond Nigeria’s
borders. With over 10 cinemas and 50 screens in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt,
Uyo, and two in Ghana, Silverbird Cinemas is currently the largest cinema chain
in West Africa.
Following the success of Silverbird,
The Filmhouse Cinemas, a new entrant, is making waves with eight cinemas across
the country, some of them in Surulere, Dugbe Ibadan, Calabar, Samonda Ibadan,
Kano, two in Asaba, and others in the pipeline.
Yet, Filmhouse Cinemas Limited,
which prides itself as a dynamic film exhibition company with a vision to be
the foremost cinema brand in Nigeria, is implementing a strategic development
plan to roll out 25 cinemas over a six-year period that commenced in December
2012.
Similarly, Genesis Deluxe Cinema,
another indigenous cinema company, is furthering the entertainment bouquet for
cinema lovers across the country with its Lagos, Enugu, and Port Harcourt
cinemas.
Explaining the sudden cinema boom,
Ademola Martins, sales director in a cinema company, says besides the upgrade
in cinema facilities that has made cinemas more welcoming to viewers, the
attitude of cinema operators and their business models have changed.
“We now have a situation where
cinema going is fun for
everyone, and even foreigners here,
because there is no difference with our cinema here and the one they patronise
in London,” says Martins.
“Probably the difference may be the
genre of movie on offer here, but the environment, service, easy payment option
and refreshments are first-class,” he says.
Clement Onyeka, a film critic,
attributes the growing cinema viewership to the vast improvement in the quality
of Nollywood films over the years, and the fact that moviemakers are now using
film premieres in cinemas as a strategy to beat the menace of piracy, as is
done in developed countries.
“We are happy that the Bank of
Industry and Nexim Bank, among others, are now financing big-budget Nigerian
movies,” says Onyeka.
“But the only way to assure these
banks return on their investments is through film premieres in cinemas. If not,
how do you expect high-budget movies such as ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’, which cost
$9 million to produce, would break even? How do you expect ‘Figurine’ that
gulped about N10 million, ‘Last Flight to Abuja’ that cost about N20 million,
among others, to pay?” he asks.
He assures that since most movies
released in recent times are high-budget films, the cinemas will have more
movie premieres and fresh offerings that will sustain visits to cinema houses
across the country.
But a staff of Silverbird Cinemas,
who spoke on condition of anonymity, observes that as the cinemas are growing,
there should be control to ensure standards are maintained because most people
would like to invest in the business just for the profit, not minding the
technicality and maintenance concerns.
Businessdayonline.com
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