By Fasuyi Tolulope Samuel
Nollywood actor and producer Pere Egbi has voiced his frustrations with the challenges faced by filmmakers in the Nigerian cinema industry.
The reality TV star disclosed that he suffered a significant financial loss exceeding ₦100 million due to poor support and management practices by cinemas.
Reacting to a video by fellow actor Femi Branch, who criticized cinemas for unfairly promoting certain movies over others, Pere echoed similar sentiments and shared his personal ordeal.
Femi had urged cinemas to address these pressing concerns and ensure fairness in movie promotions. Pere revealed that he invested ₦150 million of his personal funds, in addition to borrowing ₦11 million, to produce his movie The Silent Intruder.
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Despite this massive financial input, he lamented that the movie only generated ₦53 million in cinemas, out of which he received just over ₦8 million.
He attributed this dismal return to issues like poor screen time allocation and deliberate sidelining of films by cinemas.
Sharing his frustration, Pere stated: “Dear Femi Branch, I came across your video, and I want to say thank you for speaking out on this issue. Every single thing you said is pure facts. Honestly, I was planning to wait until the end of January 2025 before making any moves, but at this point, I’m saying, let’s go.“
As for Netflix and Prime Video, till today, The Silent Intruder is on neither. Story here and there! Over ₦150 million of my personal funds went into making that film, plus ₦11 million taken from someone who invested.“
Till today, I haven’t been able to pay back that person because I haven’t recovered the money spent. My film made just ₦53 million in cinemas, and I got just a little over ₦8 million from it. Netflix I no see, Prime Video I no see!“
It’s the shit that new producers and many producers like myself have to deal with. I’m still on that fight!” he concluded.
Pere’s remarks underline the growing frustrations among Nigerian filmmakers who struggle to recoup their investments due to industry practices and limited avenues for revenue generation.
His revelations have sparked widespread conversations within the entertainment industry, with many calling for reforms to ensure a more equitable and supportive environment for filmmakers.
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