Now in its fifth week of screening, Marvel Cinematic Universe’s “Black Panther” continues to pull—and please–crowds at Nigerian movie theaters.
Much has been written about the film itself. But what is the blockbuster’s impact, on the cinema houses, operationally—and how are they meeting the challenge?
J.K. Obatala’s curiosity, led him to Silverbird’s chic Entertainment Centre, on Memorial Drive, in Abuja, where he spoke with Yetunde Olagboye, Busines Manager.
At 14, Silverbird (with outlets in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt) has long been one of Nigeria’s premier venues, for viewing high quality foreign and domestic films.
But Olagboye, a Kogi State indigene, describes the “Black Panther” phenomenon as a “distinctive experience”—even for this cinematic powerhouse.
What she meant, quickly became apparent, to Obatala, when a caller interrupted their conversation, to enquire about the showing of the movie.
How many calls, like that, do you get, daily?
…. Every day I get an average of 20 to 25 calls, about “Black Panther”.
How does that compare with other Silverbird screenings?
Right now, people are not even calling about other movies!… Just, basically, Black Panther.
Has this high demand posed any particular challenge to you?
Yes. To a large extent, because it means that I’ve had to be very careful, in my movie scheduling.
I’ve had to schedule, in a way that I can accommodate all the other movies—as well as give priority to the ones people want to see.
So, it has created some kind of extra strain. But it’s something I do every day. So, I’ve been able to cope with it,
How many screens are you using for Black Panther?
Right now, about three halls.
How many halls do you normally use, for a movie like this?
Well, usually, what we do, is, if there are movies that we expect to sell very well, we dedicate a hall and showtimes for each one.
But in the case of a film like “Black Panther,” “Fast and Furious” or “Justice League” (for which we anticipate very large followings) we give it two to three halls—particularly at this location, here in the Business District, where we have 12 halls….
You have another outlet at Jabi?
Yes. At Jabi Lake Mall.
How is that one doing?
…Jabi faces the same problem we have. They’ve also had to make allowance for other movies, as well as Black Panther.
That’s because on average, if 100 people are coming to the cinema, maybe 75 of them are coming to see Black panther!
How many patrons does a hall hold?
Our largest hall can accommodate 247 people. The regular hall holds 220 and the V.I.P. 27. We’ve had sold-out shows every day—especially in the first, second and third weeks.
Most of the time, this place is packed. People will wait to get tickets to the next show. Sometimes, they don’t even get one. It’s the same thing at Jabi.
The situation is basically the same, at our other outlets in Lagos and Port Harcourt. In fact, it’s like this in cinemas all over Nigeria. “Sole out!” “Sole out!”
Some days, people come here from other cinemas, to say that where they went, is all sold out. They want to know, if they can get tickets to the next show.
People call as early as 6:00 a.m., to make bookings!
Have you seen the movie?
Yes, I have.
What are your impressions?
I think “Black Panther” revolutionizes the African setting–sort of. Because most of the movies we have seen, that are based on African tales, do not show the attractive side.
But this movie tells a fantastic tale. It goes into our culture. It portrays the beauty of African life. Then, it also shows the responsibility that leaders in Africa are expected to assume.
So, I think it’s a great movie.
Have the values reflected in Black Panther, affected you, in any way?
Yes. It has affected me. For one thing, the lead character, T’Challa, was told, in one scene, that he shouldn’t allow the mistakes of his father, to define his own tenure as a king.
This made me understand that, no matter the mistakes your parents may have made—or our ancestors, or our past leaders may have made—we can always choose our own path.
I think that’s a very strong message, for African youth.
What is the procedure, for getting a film like Black Panther? Did you have to compete for it?
No. No. No. The usual procedure, is that a distributor brings movies into the cinema. The distributor of Black Panther, for instance, would reach out to all the cinemas…
Movies are sent for review, every week. When it has been reviewed and you want it in your cinema, … there’s an agreement…
You have to watch the film?
Yes. Yes. The movie is premiered. And so, once there’s an agreement, that the movie is coming into the cinema, it’s sent to us ahead of the “movie week”.
Our movie week…starts on Friday and ends Thursday. Every Friday, a new movie is released.
Once you get the schedule for a particular week, you slot the movie in, for the coming week.
How much has Black Panther grossed at Silverbird, so far?
Wow! This is the fourth week of Black Panther. And I know we’ve had an attendance of over 19,000. In sales, I’m sure we would have done over N20 million…
Have you had any special problems, with people?
The only problem we’ve had, involves the rating. In its first week, Black Panther was rated “12-A”. Children under 12 could be admitted, with their parents.
But there had to be a review. So, it’s now rated “12”. This means only people of age 12 and above can watch the movie.
A number of parents who’d seen Black Panther, wanted their kids to see it as well. But most of the children were below “12”.
So, it’s been a problem, trying to explain to a parent why his child cannot view the film…
And they’re like, “No! I’ve seen it. There is nothing in the movie that a child shouldn’t see. It’s educative. I want my child to understand about storytelling and about how African life works,” and all of that.
How long do you plan to run Black Panther?
As long as it’s drawing a crowd, we’ll keep showing it.
