Cinema Business in Nigeria: Guide on How To Start (2024)
A cinema or movie theatre is a place where movies are shown on large screens for a paying audience. It is usually characterized by superior sound effects, high picture quality and comfortable furniture. Nigerians love going to the cinema to see movie and you will agree with me that we have few of them in the country.
In fact, I bet you can count how many of them exist in the city you live. With the unending thirst of movie by Nigerians, it will be a nice business idea to set up a cinema in the city where you live and make money from it. This of course depends on if the area favours such. Follow the steps below to start a cinema business in Nigeria.
STEP 1: GET A LOCATION, EQUIPMENTS AND CAPITAL
The single most important factor that will make or break your business is location. Yes, location. This has it way on deciding a lot of things in the business and as such, you can’t afford to play with it. The location will determine the kind of movies to be shown, the hospitality that will be expected from your customers and the amount you will earn from the business. So do your market research and select a location wisely. You can either build a hall in this location or rent one. However, make sure it is large enough to accommodate a large number of people at least 100 for a start. After getting a location and getting a hall, buy your basic equipment such as projectors, screens, lighting, and sound systems and the fittings of the cinema. Note that the seats, their arrangement and how comfortable they are is very important.
After deciding on your location, the next thing and actually the most important is to acquire your startup capital. From your research, you will know how much is required – go get that amount.
STEP 2: GET TRAINED
Every business need a trained person to run it and the cinema business is no exception. Aside this formal training, you can also visit your competitors and see how they run their own cinemas o have a clearer picture of what it takes.
STEP 3: REGISTRATION
You need to register your business with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) if you want it to be standard. Also, it will be best in your interest and credibility sake to register with the Nigerian Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) because the body has the sole responsibility of regulating the movie industry in Nigeria.
STEP 4: ESTABLISH CONNECTIONS WITH MOVIE DISTRIBUTORS AND DIRECTORS
Movie distributors and directors are the nerves of the business. you are going to be showing their product, some might even be licensed to you alone will you can even be chosen to be the first to show a movie so build relations and leverage them for good.
STEP 5: EMPLOY STAFFS AND ADVERTISE
After all the above are in place, the next is to get your staffs. You can however get them before setting this up and get them the necessary skills they need to give your customers maximum satisfaction. After all this, you will need to advertise your new cinema for people to know about it so they will patronize it. To make more money, you will do well by having a snacks stand close by.
COST OF STARTING A CINEMA BUSINESS IN NIGERIA (2024)
The total cost you would need to start up a cinema business in Nigeria depends on factors like location and state. After conducting a feasibility study, the minimum estimated cost could be N5 million while if you want to open a cinema house on a large scale, it could cost you N50 million.
