Director of Genesis Group of Cinemas, Ope Ajayi, has disclosed that Nigerian cinemas will likely increase ticket prices before the end of the second half of the year 2021.

Ajayi stated that the cinema industry has struggled to sustain its ticket rates between N1,500 and N2,500 for over five years, warning that there may be an upward review in the cost of movie ticket to as much as N5,000 by the end of the year.

Speaking with Rotus Oddiri of Arise TV’s Global Business Report, Ajayi said that: “It’s inevitable. The dollar is moving against us, inflation is moving against us. It’s inevitable – I think you are going to start seeing prices around N5000 per ticket at the end of the year.

“And that’s the reality of the times that we are in.” Ajayi added.
In a related development, the co-founder of FilmOne Entertainment Group, Moses Babatope said he shares the same sentiment with the head of Genesis Cinemas considering the situations with local and global economies.

Supporting the forthcoming ticket price raise, Babatope said:

“I think with everything going on with the economy, global economy, the impact of the pandemic, the fact that ticket prices over the last four [and] five years have remained static, and we’ve still improved in the quality of services given our guests.

“We are still getting some of the best products in, the cost of advertising and marketing experiences are very high, the cost for our input for retail products are high.

“We have no choice for us to be able to survive, for us to be able to maintain the level of experience our guests have become accustomed to, and for us to remain competitive, I think that ticket price increases are just normal for us to stay afloat.”