Our second new feature, A Spotlight On, starts with a focus on Filmhouse Cinemas, Nigeria

We’re all familiar with the big names of cinema exhibition. But there are plenty of lesser-known cinema companies around the world with colourful stories. So we enlisted the help of CTC Governor and all-round industry legend, Sandie Caffelle, to take you around the world in our new series…

A SPOTLIGHT ON... Filmhouse Cinemas, Nigeria

CT: When did Filmhouse open its first-ever site and what obstacles did you have to overcome that were specific to Nigeria as a territory? Filmhouse began operations in December of 2012 with its first cinema in Lagos, a three-screen cinema located on Adeniran Ogunsanya, Surulere. It was one of the pioneering cinemas in the country at that time, and the second in the mainland area of the city. Being new players in the territory, we had several challenges, ranging from funding to accessibility of Hollywood content. We were just starting and some regional distributors wanted minimum guarantees at prices that were a bit burdensome to manage. We had to set the ball rolling with “Nollywood” films (Nigerian film industry content) from independents and at one point, we were even described as a “Nollywood cinema” by observers.

Other challenges were normal for start-ups in our market: multiple taxations, power issues, high costs of clearing imported equipment and so on. But looking at how far we have come - and what we now have the audacity to dare and hope for - we couldn’t be more grateful for the loyalty and resilience of our team and our esteemed guests who choose to trust in our ability to build a big brand and deliver a great service. We still face some of these challenges today, for example, the national grid collapsed recently and the price of diesel skyrocketed. So we have had to regulate operational hours in some of our buildings to balance the excessive pressure on our overhead costs, but we’re pleased to say that the strategy has proven to be effective.

CT: How many operational sites do you have? Are they all in Nigeria? We currently have 11 operational sites, having lost one to vandalism during the #EndSars protest, but yes, they are all situated in Nigeria. However, there are ongoing conversations about opening cinemas in other west African markets, and as soon as they are confirmed, we will be making announcements. In the meantime, we have another IMAX cinema opening before the end of the year in Lagos.

CT: During the growth of the group what did you learn? Did anything surprise you? We would not say that anything, in particular, came as a surprise - we expected to learn as we progressed. The market was new and largely uncharted, so we expected that being one of the pioneers would come with a few uncertainties about how a new product offering in the leisure and entertainment sector would be received. However, our approach was to implement flexible strategies that could accommodate reality as we progressed. So far, that has worked tremendously. The major hit that came suddenly was the pandemic, but its effects did not only affect our company. All players in the sector suffered from its devastating impact and are still recovering. However, the pandemic served as the right situation to facilitate evaluation of crucial areas in the organization, such as diversification, structure, strategic communication & crisis response, and our relationship with stakeholders.

CT: How does Filmhouse differ and stand out from other cinemas in Nigeria? By virtue of our premium format offerings (IMAX, MX4D, and DBOX), technologically-enhanced customer service, and loyalty offerings. We are considered industry leaders and preferred by movie-goers in Nigeria. Building the cinema-going culture here has been a demanding responsibility for players in the exhibition sector. Hence, our commitment to enhancing the cinematic experience through technologically-optimized services, engaging in in-cinema marketing campaigns, and building & maintaining a modern, state-ofthe-art environment in each of our cinemas has contributed to many film lovers enjoying the cinema experience itself and therefore the service we provide. Over the years, we have made an event out of movie-going as a strategic approach towards harnessing the communal impact of theatrical releases in our society. The Nigerian cinema market enjoys a unique cinema-going audience that responds communally to the nostalgia created from premieres, digital campaigns (especially social media challenges), and general buzz, and we try to tap into that to keep our offerings prioritized.

We are also blessed with committed staff at different levels of management, who have continued to channel so much creativity into ensuring that we are preferred by movie-goers. Consistently brainstorming to offer innovative solutions to challenges in our line of service, is a common culture at different levels of management and in all departments. So yes, we can say that our Filmhouse team across the company has been crucial to the standards we have built and continue to build.

CT: During lockdown, what COVID-related procedures did you have in place? And how did you approach reopening the cinemas? During the lockdown, we found ways to assist in the welfare of our staff, providing food items and toiletries across all our locations when needed. From the perspective of maintaining our facilities and equipment, our technical and development teams ensured that periodic maintenance continued; powering projectors up and down, updating software used for daily operations, ensuring health and safety measures such as fumigation and fire safety checks. Our communications team kept moviegoers abreast of developments, creating and circulating marketing material that built anticipation for reopening.

When it was time to welcome customers back, the health and safety team liaised with the relevant safety commissions, both at federal and state regulation levels. We invested in educational materials placed strategically around the cinemas to advise moviegoers on precautionary measures, such as wall posts, digital and on-screen messaging.

The mandatory safety measures communicated by the safety commissions included use of hand sanitizers, reduction in seating capacity to accommodate social distancing, wearing of face masks, floor markings to guide where people should stand in foyers, regular disinfection of auditoriums, contact tracing.

CT: How have you tempted people back to Filmhouse Cinemas? Through our Filmhouse+ App loyalty scheme we have provided discounts to customers for both tickets and cinema food. However, we would say that the solid titles slated for release in cinemas, from both Nollywood and Hollywood, have been key drivers. We capitalized on the slate to create the needed buzz and make an attractive event out of the cinema-going experience. People were excited to take pictures on the red carpet at the premieres of their favorite films. We charmed film lovers with the nostalgic experience of getting to meet and greet their favourite stars and created enthusiasm for our events and premieres through social media campaigns. We were aware that the lengthy closure of cinemas had empowered streaming as an alternative form of entertainment so we did not move slowly in our efforts to make movie-goers realize what they had missed experientially in cinemas.

CT: With FilmOne Studios being your sister company, did receiving Nollywood content from them give you an advantage over other cinemas? Despite FilmOne being a sister company, our relationship with them does not give us different or preferential access to titles over other exhibitors. All cinemas are offered the same films. So no, we did not have any extra advantage. However, you would be correct to say that Nollywood films played a crucial role in the renaissance of the Nigerian cinema industry post-lockdown. At that time, Hollywood was yet to resume fully, and even the titles available had day-and-date release clauses tied to them. Consequently, piracy ruined the opportunity we had to fully harness their box office potential. Meanwhile, Nollywood producers offered solid content that was proficient in driving patronage. So, we keyed into this and we got fantastic results. The period even produced Africa’s highest-grossing film of all time, “Omo Ghetto: The Saga”.