Unbelievable! Nigerians spent N1, 294, 602, 827 billion watching movies at cinemas in July and August 2019.
The figures are according to data provided by the cinemas and compiled by the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN).
Following its lead in June, ‘Bling Lagosians’ led the first week of July by raking in N37, 409, 372. However, it was one of the only two Nigerian films in the top 20 movies.
The other was Kunle Afoloyan’s ‘Mokalik’ starting the month at number nine while ‘Avengers: Endgame’ sank to 18th position, earning N151, 966 that week.
By the second week, ‘Spiderman: Far from home’ edged ‘Bling Lagosians’ out of the first position. It had a 34 per cent decrease in revenue while ‘Spiderman’ earned N64, 072, 680 million.
‘Spiderman’ remained on top for the third week, although earnings decreased by 36 per cent. However, general grosses dropped by 20 per cent while ‘Lion King’ debuted for a few days, raking in N4, 040, 854 million.
By the fourth week, ‘Lion King’ had settled in and climbed to number one with N108, 447, 093 million. ‘Bling Lagosians’ stayed at number three with ‘Mokalik’ at number 13.
Other Nigerian films in top 20 included ‘Rant Queens’ at number eight, ‘The Gift’ at number eleven, ‘Wakill’ at 15 and ‘Coming From Insanity’ at 17.
Buzz around ‘Lion King’ dropped by the fifth week with earnings down by 33 per cent, totalling N73, 040, 701 million. All the top 20 films earned N136, 936, 341 million in total.
‘Fast and Furious: Hobbs and Shaw’ debuted and snatched the number spot with N104, 443, 577 million. On Nollywood’s side, ‘The Set Up’ entered late into the week and raked in N187, 500.
Although revenue dropped by 48 per cent, ‘Fast and Furious’ maintained the number one position while ‘The Set Up’ made its real box office debut at number three with N25, 634, 606 million.
By the following week, all films maintained their positions but the ‘Bling Lagosians’ sank to number eight after spending eight weeks in the box office. ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ debuted leading to a week total of N113, 615, 730 million.
In week nine, ‘Angel Has Fallen’ climbed to the number one spot, making N64, 227, 240 million. ‘The Set Up’ was pushed to fourth position with a 49 per cent drop in revenue.
For the last weekend in August, ‘Bling Lagosians’ settled at number 20 with ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ struggling at number 19. ‘The Set Up’ had dropped to number five.
