Nigeria dominates cinema infrastructure across English-speaking West Africa, operating 118 of the region’s 122 cinemas as of 2025, according to data released by FilmOne Entertainment.
The breakdown reveals Nigeria’s overwhelming lead in theatrical exhibition, with Ghana operating just three cinemas and Liberia one, bringing the regional total to 122 facilities. Without Nigeria’s infrastructure, English-speaking West Africa would retain only four cinemas, underscoring the country’s central role in sustaining the region’s theatrical film culture.
The data provides context to recent debates within Nollywood over cinema economics and film promotion strategies, following public exchanges between filmmakers Kunle Afolayan and Funke Akindele regarding marketing demands and financial returns from theatrical releases.
FilmOne Entertainment’s 2025 annual report showed that West African cinemas generated 15.6 billion naira in box office revenue, with approximately 2.79 million moviegoers attending screenings of 248 new releases. The average cinema ticket price stood at 5,596 naira throughout the year.
Nollywood productions accounted for 49.4 percent of total market share, closely followed by Hollywood films at 48.8 percent, while Chinese and Liberian films contributed 1.2 percent combined. Sixteen films surpassed 200 million naira in box office earnings, with fourteen Nollywood titles individually earning over 100 million naira.
FilmOne Entertainment ranked as the highest-grossing distributor of 2025, while Funke Akindele’s Behind The Scenes emerged as the top-grossing Nollywood release with 2.4 billion naira in revenue. Other category leaders included Zootopia 2 as the highest-grossing animation, Sinners as the leading Hollywood title, and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba as the top-performing anime.
The cinema concentration in Nigeria reflects broader infrastructure disparities across West Africa, where theatrical exhibition remains largely confined to major urban centres in Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt. Ghana’s three cinemas operate primarily in Accra, while Liberia maintains a single facility in Monrovia.
Industry analysts note that Nigeria’s cinema expansion since 2012 has driven regional box office growth, with multiplexes operated by FilmOne, Silverbird, Genesis Deluxe, and Filmhouse establishing the country as the dominant theatrical market in sub-Saharan Africa outside South Africa.
The recent controversy between Afolayan and Akindele highlighted tensions over promotional strategies and profit distribution within Nollywood. Afolayan questioned the financial viability of theatrical releases during the Lagos Business of Film summit last week, stating he could not sustain exhaustive dance-driven marketing campaigns despite their effectiveness for colleagues.
Akindele, whose films have consistently topped box office charts through social media-driven promotion, responded that filmmakers should develop their own successful strategies rather than criticizing existing approaches. The exchange occurred amid broader industry discussions about sustainable business models for Nigerian cinema.
Despite Nigeria’s infrastructure dominance, challenges persist including limited screen density relative to population size, concentrated urban distribution leaving rural areas underserved, and ongoing debates over revenue sharing between producers, distributors, and exhibitors.
