Nollywood Analysis

2.3 Overview of Nollywood

The Nigerian audience’s first experience in film screening was in 1903 at the Galover memorial Hall Farinde (2008) cited (Uchegbu 1992). Even though film was introduced by a European merchant, it took the combined efforts of the colonial administration and the church to sustain the industry Farinde (2008) cited (Ekwuazi 1987). The content of such films can be ascertained easily that the British colonialists were using those films for their colonialization strategies. Over the years the name Nollywood has been frequently used to describe the Nigerian movie industry. Though no one could claim exactly how and when the first time the name “Nollywood” was created of used to refer to the Nigerian movie industry, according

Oladipo (2012) noted that after several averagely successful films, Papa Ajasco (1984) by wale Adenuga, it became one of the first Nigerian blockbusters, reportedly grossing about #61,000 in 3 days. A year later Mose Bolaton (1985) by Moses Olaiya also grossed #107,000 in five days. The 1980s was also the period of major boom in the television industry with several books from notable authors being adapted into television series. Many of these television productions were later released on video and as a result, a small scale informal video trade developed, which led to the evolution of the video film era. The video film era popularly known as the home video era is the time in Nigeria cinema mainly from the late 1980s to mid-2010s, when Nigerian films were made using affordable video format Winckler

During this time, the new Nigerian cinema finally emerged in the mid-2000s with the release of films such as Irapada (2006) and the amazing grace (2006). The figurine (2006) by Kunle Afolayan is regarded as the break out film, which heightened the media (Television, Radio, Newspaper) attention towards “new Nigerian cinema” revolution due to its success in Nigeria as well as screenings in notable film festivals. Corry, Neil (2010). As at 2015, the highest grossing film in Nigeria contemporary film history was 30 days in Atlanta (2014) which grossed approximately #140 million. As of 2013, Nigerian cinema was rated as the third most valuable film industry in the world based on its worth and overall revenue