Kenya tops in cinema figures

Kenyans are today attending movie shows more than ever before, and account for half of the total audiences in the five eastern and central African countries.

A survey conducted last week on the cinema culture in Kenya shows that the country may soon need more screens to cater for the growing demand.

In an exclusive interview, a main movie distributor in Kenya, Pan Africa Film Distributors, cites as an example the overwhelming box-office success of the blockbuster, Avatar, which was released in December.

As of two weekends ago, the film had set a new total attendance record of 77,000 in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia in the previous 13 weeks of screening, with Kenyans accounting for 42,000 of the number.

In monetary terms, the movie tally for the region stood at about Sh34 million ($450,000), more than Sh20 million ($270,000) being realised in Kenya.

Remaining two weeks

The figures are expected to rise marginally in the remaining two weeks of screening. “This now exceeds the previous mark set by Passion of Christ, which was slightly over 68,000 tickets sold,’’ says Ms Trushna Buddhdev Patel, the general manager for Africa of Pan Africa Film Distributors, which is handling Avatar and supplies most of the movies screened in the region.

Avatar’s one advantage is on its broad appeal to both teenagers and adults alike. In anticipation of the good response the international distributors had made many prints and shipped them on demand.

Ms Trushna notes that Kenya has outdone its neighbours due to a combination of factors, that range from a much more developed cinema-going culture to a better infrastructure for screenings. This situation enables the release of more prints than in the neighbouring countries.

Currently, Kenya has 15 cinemas, against the neighbours’ one apiece. “That is not all; Kenyans’ social attitudes are more open, and therefore the people are more likely to appreciate the diversity offered in movies,” she adds.

Her view is echoed by Ms Briya Gani of Fox Theatres, who cites the success of the disaster movie, 2012, late last year as a good showing for a movie based on the wrath of nature, which sends killer tides to sweep everything in its way.

But the success may also be explained by the fact that there is greater awareness about environmental disasters, and, by and by, such themes may seem a warning about an impending calamity. Equally refreshing was the good response to New Moon, which is based on a love affair between a human girl and a vampire.

“I think we have a broad audience which has grown steadily’,’ she says. Areas with a large expatriate population, such as Nairobi’s Village Market, have shown a predilection for serious movies. This is why the one on Nelson Mandela, Invictus, did so well.

On the whole, most Kenyans tend to prefer romantic comedies and action movies. There has also been notable growth in movies that target children, boosting attendances, especially during school holidays. Most notable was Alvin the Chipmunks 2 that sold 19,000 tickets in December. This was considered a high attendance for a children’s movie.

And this is despite the fears of insecurity that haunts city residents and certainly the growth of television as well as the influx of home entertainment-based content that has grown with the wider affordability of the DVD and the proliferation of movie piracy. Instead, they may have played a positive role in spreading awareness about movie entertainment and inevitably drawing more people to the cinemas.

The lead characters

Says Ms Briya: “Previously the focus on films was the lead characters, but I now hear especially younger people discussing the films and are well informed about trends and even directors, which indicates a more well-rounded perception of the business’’.

On this the internet has been a key factor, and movie fans are using it to know new productions. “Movies are now part of the information I search for and there is a whole lot of it on the internet,’’ says Mr David Omondi, a movie fan. Traditionally, a massive box-office hit movie has always stirred up the market, drawing new audiences that tend to increase the attendance of subsequent releases.

With the success of Avatar cinemas are seeing the growth in attendance of other films that would not have drawn the same good turnout in the past. A similar trend has motivated the release of more titles and prints, but with this year’s World Cup in South Africa, overseas distributors foresee the game stealing fans.