280 Nollywood movies were produced in Q1 2023

Key highlights

• 280 movies were produced in the first quarter of 2023, compared to 340 for the last quarter.
• Lagos remains the film production leader with 106 films produced, followed by Abuja with 99.
• The film board says no doubt the film industry is a key contributor to the national economy.

The Nigerian film industry, Nollywood, produced a total of 280 films in the first quarter of the year.

This was disclosed in a statement by the  Executive Director/CEO of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), Alhaji Adedayo Thomas on Tuesday, where it was revealed that the data was gathered through the Department of Film Censorship and Classification of the board in its first quarter report for the year, capturing all films submitted to the board from across the country.

First Quarter

Alhaji Adedayo Thomas further revealed that the film board received and censored 280 movies produced by the Nigerian film industry adding that its report would be submitted to the relevant Federal Government agencies as input for the compilation of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the first quarter.

He disclosed that 280 movies is a decrease compared to 340 produced in the fourth quarter of 2022 which represented an 18 percent decrease according to him.

Production areas

The film board stated that of the 280 movies, 106 were produced in Lagos and reviewed by the Lagos center of the film censor board, followed by Nigeria’s federal capital, Abuja with 99 movies, Onitsha is next with 32 films, Abeokuta raked in 3 films, Kano 15 and Benin 1 only.

Other cities, including Jos at 15 films, Port Harcourt at 8,  Ibadan and Kaduna recorded 1 film each, he said:

• “There is no doubt that our film industry is a key contributor to the national economy as the films being produced are a clear reflection of the direct and indirect jobs the sector is creating.
• “NFVCB as a Federal Government agency is committed to providing enabling environment for filmmakers; we therefore urge them to cooperate with us by ensuring that they submit their films for classification.

What you should know

Recall Nairametrics reported in October 2022, that according to the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria, every Nollywood movie that has a theatrical release grossed more than N800 million, with some of them even making more than double what others did. The top 3 highest-grossing Nigerian films of the period were:

King of thieves – N320,805,150

A movie about a vengeful bandit who threatens the peace of a flourishing kingdom, and the native mystical and worldly forces that must come together to stop him and save the day.

After its successful run at the box office, Prime Video acquired the rights to stream it on its platform

Brotherhood – 165,000,000

Still showing in cinemas, Brotherhood follows the lives of orphaned twin brothers, as they find themselves on opposite sides of the law. Without divulging too much about the plot, their relationship, or brotherhood if you will, is put to the test when one joins a task force in charge of hunting down the other’s gang.

Passport – N67,311,066

Passport tells the story of Oscar and Funke, two people dealing with loneliness and looking for some excitement in their lives. To recover his passport, Oscar needs help from a tomboy who lives in the ghetto. He must work with her or miss a flight to a job interview that could change his life.