Actor and BBNaija star, Pere Egbi has joined the conversation about the challenges facing the Nigerian film industry, particularly with regards to cinemas
He shared his personal experience of losing a significant amount of money due to the issues plaguing the industry.
Pere was reacting to a video by fellow actor Femi Branch, who highlighted the unfair practices of cinemas in promoting certain movies over others.
Pere revealed that he invested a substantial amount of his own funds, N150 million, and borrowed an additional N11 million to produce one of his films.
However, the movie’s returns were disappointing, with Pere stating that he only received a little over N8 million from the N53 million it made in cinemas.
The actor attributed the poor performance to the cinemas’ practice of hiding films and allocating insufficient screen time. He also expressed frustration about the difficulty of getting his film on popular streaming platforms like Netflix and Prime Video. Pere’s story sheds light on the struggles that many producers face in the Nigerian film industry, and he has vowed to continue fighting for fair treatment and better opportunities for himself and others.
Posting Femi Branch’s video, he captioned:
“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, lets go.
As for Netflix and prime video, till today, The Silent Intruder is on neither. Story here and there! Over 150 million naira of my personal funds went into making that film. Plus 11 million naira taken from someone who invested.
Till today I haven’t been able to pay back that person because I haven’t recovered 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!”
Follow Us on Facebook – @LadunLiadi; Instagram – @LadunLiadi; Twitter – @LadunLiadi; Youtube – @LadunLiadiTV for updates
