Nollywood is fighting a shadow war with cinema operators over shady screenings. Actress Ini Edo blew the lid off this mess, calling out theaters for sabotaging her new movie A Very Dirty Christmas. She says they deliberately switched showtimes to dead hours and even told fans the film was not playing when it was. Her co-star IK Ogbonna backed her up, slamming the favoritism game that hurts producers and actors.
The issue is way bigger than just one film. Actress Toyin Abraham jumped in with identical gripes about her movie Oversabi Aunty, claiming cinemas lied about sold-out shows and diverted ticket holders to other halls. Filmmaker Niyi Akinmolayan also reported theaters listing his film Colours of Fire but not actually screening it. He threatened to start naming names if it continued.
This whole scandal points to a rotten system in Nigeria's film industry. Multiple stars are now publicly demanding transparency and fair play from cinema chains, arguing these underhanded tactics kill morale and profits. The call is for regulators to step in and level the field, ending these long-running practices for good.
The issue is way bigger than just one film. Actress Toyin Abraham jumped in with identical gripes about her movie Oversabi Aunty, claiming cinemas lied about sold-out shows and diverted ticket holders to other halls. Filmmaker Niyi Akinmolayan also reported theaters listing his film Colours of Fire but not actually screening it. He threatened to start naming names if it continued.
This whole scandal points to a rotten system in Nigeria's film industry. Multiple stars are now publicly demanding transparency and fair play from cinema chains, arguing these underhanded tactics kill morale and profits. The call is for regulators to step in and level the field, ending these long-running practices for good.
