Legal practitioner, Dr. Ope Banwo, has weighed in on the continuing debate over Nollywood movie promotion, insisting that cinema success is set by market forces, not private style or inventive ego.
Banwo’s feedback comply with latest criticisms by Nollywood veterans, Omotola Jalade Ekeinde and Kunle Afolayan, who questioned the rising use of social media skits, dance traits, and unconventional promotional techniques by some filmmakers forward of cinema releases.
According to Banwo, the controversy has been wrongly framed as a dialog about dignity and sophistication, when it’s, in actuality, an {economic} challenge pushed by viewers behaviour, visibility, and return on funding.
“The cinema market does not reward pride; it rewards presence,” Banwo acknowledged. “What fills seats is not pedigree or past glory, but attention, relevance, and reach.”
He argued that many revered Nollywood figures are nonetheless working with an outdated Idumota-era mindset, the place advertising was largely dealt with by distributors and entrepreneurs, and producers have been insulated from the industrial dangers of movie promotion.
“In today’s cinema economy, producers are no longer shielded from market realities,” he stated. “You either sell your film directly to audiences or you fail in public. There is no middle ground.”
Banwo maintained that dismissing trendy promotional methods as “undignified” displays a refusal to interact with the economics of in the present day’s leisure market, the place consideration is forex and visibility determines income.
He additional challenged the notion that avoiding cinemas in favour of streaming platforms is a mark of artistic superiority, describing such strikes as danger avoidance relatively than inventive precept.
“Netflix pre-sales are not box-office victories,” Banwo famous. “They remove risk, but they also remove proof of market demand. Cinema success is the ultimate stress test.”
Citing producers like Funke Akindele and Toyin Abraham, Banwo stated constant box-office performers perceive that advertising isn’t about ego, however about survival in a aggressive market.
“These filmmakers show up every year, put their money on the line, market aggressively, and let the market judge them,” he stated. “That is how industries grow.”
He warned that mocking commercially profitable methods whereas failing to outperform them financially is a flawed posture.
“If your ‘serious’ marketing cannot translate to ticket sales, then it is not refined—it is ineffective,” Banwo concluded.
According to him, Nollywood’s future might be formed not by nostalgia or ethical judgments about advertising type, however by these keen to grasp viewers psychology, embrace market realities, and compete brazenly within the cinema economic system.
