James Abinibi Warns Nollywood Filmmakers Against Cinema Releases, Citing Financial Losses

Nigerian filmmaker James Abinibi has issued a stark warning to fellow Nollywood producers, urging them to reconsider releasing films in cinemas due to widespread financial losses.

In a lengthy Instagram post shared on May 2, Abinibi challenged the glossy box office narratives often promoted on social media, stating that no Nollywood film released in cinemas this year has been profitable.

“Don’t take your movies to the cinemas. No Nollywood producer has broken even from their cinema releases this year. None. Forget all the ‘first movie to…’ or ‘biggest…’ records you’ve been sold,” he wrote.

“Everyone that has a movie out in the cinemas since January this year is bleeding, and it’s not stopping anytime soon. Whatever reason this hasn’t become an alarming issue is what actually concerns me.”

Abinibi emphasized the harsh economics of cinema distribution, stating that a film with a production budget of at least ₦200 million would need to gross between ₦700 million and ₦900 million to break even, a target he described as “near impossible.”

He also pointed to broader industry challenges, including high production costs, soaring actor fees, unstable exchange rates, audience distrust, and ineffective marketing strategies, as barriers to profitability in the current climate.

Despite these hurdles, Abinibi maintains that filmmaking can still be a viable career, just not through cinema distribution as currently structured.