Nigerian film producers Toyin Abraham, Niyi Akinmolayan, and Ini Edo have alleged cinema operators’ deliberate sabotage of their films through unfavourable screening practices.

The producers claim that some cinemas are engaging in practices such as falsely declaring films sold out, assigning poor screening times, and limiting showings to just one per day.

Toyin Abraham, whose latest film “Oversabi Aunty” is allegedly being sidelined in several cinemas, stated that she is not making money from the film.

“They sell another ticket to people and take them to my movie hall,” she said, accusing cinemas of assigning her film early morning and late-night screening slots, which she described as commercially damaging.

“Some cinemas will give you 10 am and 9 pm. A 10 am showtime, how do you expect it to sell?” she asked.

Niyi Akinmolayan, director of “Colours of Fire,” also raised concerns over the treatment of his movie, accusing some cinemas of collecting money for tickets but refusing to screen the film.

He warned that he would publicly identify cinemas and their managers if the situation didn’t improve.

“If by end of day you don’t fix up, I am going to name all the cinemas that have Colours of Fire on their website, collected money from people and are refusing to show them the film,” he wrote.

Ini Edo, a first-time producer, shared video recordings on her Instagram page of cinema-goers complaining about cinema misconduct, describing her experience as draining.

She wrote, “Nigerian cinemas, this has been exhausting. As a first-timer, I learned on the go with humility and commitment, yet faced intentional frustration despite the sacrifice and investment poured into this project. But God is bigger than every barrier, bigger than gatekeeping and intimidation”.

These complaints highlight concerns about screen time allocation during peak cinema periods, with December being the most competitive season for Nigerian cinemas. (The Nation)

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