EbonyLife Cinemas has deleted the Instagram announcement in which it said FilmOne had pulled its titles from Nigeria Cinema Day, hours after the notice was published and circulated online.
The announcement that sparked fresh attention around this year’s Nigeria Cinema Day is no longer available on EbonyLife Cinemas’ Instagram page.
The cinema had earlier published a notice informing customers that FilmOne titles would no longer be available as part of the September 26 Nigeria Cinema Day programme, stating that the decision was made by FilmOne.
According to the notice, customers who had already purchased tickets for the affected FilmOne titles would be able to either request refunds or exchange their tickets for other available films.
That announcement, however, has now been removed from EbonyLife Cinemas’ Instagram page.
The deletion comes only hours after the cinema published the notice and after the development had already begun circulating among members of the Nigerian film and cinema industry. Nollywood CV had earlier reported on FilmOne’s withdrawal from the Cinema Day programme following the announcement.
At the time of publication, EbonyLife Cinemas had not provided a public explanation for the removal of the post. It is therefore unclear whether the company deleted the announcement because the situation has changed, because the communication is being reconsidered, or for another reason.
The removal also leaves the status of the earlier announcement unclear. The original post specifically stated that FilmOne had pulled its titles from Nigeria Cinema Day, but there has been no new public statement from either side confirming that the reported withdrawal has been reversed.
The timing is particularly notable because Nigeria Cinema Day is scheduled for Saturday, September 26, when participating cinemas across the country are expected to offer tickets at the discounted price of ₦3,000.
The same day is also scheduled to see the large-scale screening of Black Market at Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos, where the FilmOne-backed production is attempting to attract an audience of up to 50,000 people as part of a Guinness World Records attempt.
For now, what is confirmed is that EbonyLife Cinemas published the announcement, the announcement was widely circulated, and the post has subsequently been deleted from its Instagram page. The reason for the deletion and whether it signals any change in the situation between the cinema and FilmOne remain unclear.
