Former Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN) chairman Patrick Lee has responded to allegations that cinemas promoting some films over others.
Actress Mercy Aigbe made the accusations in December 2024, saying that some theatres dissuaded people from seeing her film “Thin Line.”
Actor Femi Branch also claimed that instead of being impartial, some movie theatre employees wear memorabilia to promote particular films.
Pere of BBNaija also described how the “unfair practices” and purported favouritism cost him more than N150 million.
Lee, the head of operations at Viva Cinemas, denied the allegations in an interview with Nollywood on Radio, stating that bias is not in the best interests of the theatre.
He explained that cinemas prioritize high-selling films by giving them good screening times and the best facilities for commercial reasons.
Lee clarified that promotional T-shirts worn by staff are often misinterpreted as favoritism but are simply materials provided by producers.
“In busy periods, cinema equipment may break down. When it happens and you are unable to repair, you make a commercial decision,” he said.
“So, the decision is to move the movie with the highest audience to the hall with functioning equipment. Equipment breaking down often happens but the highest-selling film will always get the best facility because we need to take care of our customers. We get a lot of these allegations but it is not the generality of what happens in the cinema business.
“We do not tell customers what movie to watch. In the past, we had customers asking staff about movies to watch because there was not a lot of social media information, but we do not encourage customers to watch a movie over another.
“We do have a situation where a customer would see a cinema staff wearing a t-shirt of a movie, and it gets misinterpreted that the staff are trying to sway people to watch that movie, but it is just a promotional material given to us by the producers and distributors.
“Generally, persuading does not happen because it is not in the cinema’s interest to a large extent.
“…When a movie releases, the most important period determining the movie’s success is the first week. The first week tells you if a movie is going to sell.
“Going back to when the first franchise of Jenifa got to the cinema, we have it 12:40 pm and at that time the hall will be 90% filled already. You would want to say the time is unfavorable but the customers come to watch it.”
“…For example, Toyin Abraham’s core market is in the Southwest, particularly in cities like Osogbo, Akure, Ibadan, and Abeokuta. Cinemas in these areas will naturally give her films priority.
“Similarly, AY’s films perform better in the South-South and Southeast regions. Each cinema schedules movies based on its audience demographics.”
Lee urged producers to make formal complaints to the appropriate authorities instead of airing their grievances on social media.
He said official complaints allow for investigations and resolution, whereas social media statements are challenging to address.
“In the cinema association, we encourage producers to make an official complaint. Then we can investigate it officially, but when people go on social media to make a statement, we can look into it, but because it is not an official complaint, it is rather challenging to take up,” he added.
