Nigeria’s cinema industry is on a remarkable upswing. The national box office more than doubled from N7.36 billion in 2023 to N15.64 billion in 2025, with revenues projected to hit N20 billion by the end of 2026 as operators double down on premium experiences and smarter monetisation strategies.
Nollywood is a major driver of that growth. Local productions now account for 49.4 per cent of total box office takings in 2025, edging out Hollywood titles and underscoring how deeply Nigerian storytelling has resonated with paying audiences.
Behind these numbers are the entrepreneurs and institutions shaping the country’s cinema landscape — from internationally styled multiplex chains like Silverbird and Filmhouse to pioneering independent exhibitors pushing into secondary cities. These operators are not just screening films; they are building the infrastructure of a maturing film culture, one that blends global content with homegrown creativity.
As digital ticketing, varied screening formats, and expanding regional footprints redefine what cinemagoing looks like in Nigeria, the people at the top of the industry are worth knowing. Here is a look at the owners of Nigeria’s largest cinema circuits.
Olusegun Obasanjo — Founder, OOPL Cinemas
OOPL Cinemas operates under the umbrella of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, functioning as a premium entertainment offering within the library’s broader cultural and leisure complex. Despite running just three sites, the chain punches above its weight — generating N312.5 million in revenue in 2025, capturing 2 per cent of gross box office and 2.3 per cent of total admissions.
The man behind it needs little introduction. Olusegun Obasanjo is one of the most consequential figures in Nigeria’s post-independence history — a military general who helped bring the Nigerian Civil War to a close, served as Military Head of State from 1976 to 1979, and then made the rare decision to voluntarily transfer power to a civilian government, setting a democratic standard that few of his contemporaries matched.
Born around March 5, 1937, in Ibogun-Olaogun, Ogun State, Obasanjo came from a modest farming background before rising through the ranks of the Nigerian Army. Decades later, after surviving imprisonment under military rule, he returned to the political stage as Nigeria’s second democratically elected Executive President in 1999.
The idea for the Presidential Library had actually been conceived as far back as 1988, though it remained on ice until Obasanjo’s return to power. Shortly after taking office in 1999, he established the Office of Presidential Libraries to give the project formal structure and momentum — laying the groundwork for what would eventually include one of Nigeria’s more distinctive cinema destinations.
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