Mildred Okwo‘s La Femme Anjola has been prematurely pulled from Filmhouse cinemas barely 2 weeks since its debut. The neo-noir film, which premiered on March 19, is no longer available in Filmhouse cinemas.
Confirming the reports, Okwo shared on Twitter: “FilmHouse has removed us from all cinemas except these ones. I guess it is to make way for their new film. it is their cinema and they will do with what they please…”
Check out the tweet below:
The tweet caused a major row on Twitter. Many are accusing Filmhouse Cinemas of sidelining the Rita Dominic-produced La Femme Anjola in favour of the newly released Niyi Akinmoyan-directed Prophetess which it co-produced and distributed.
Amid the heated online debate, Okwo further revealed that FilmOne had prematurely taken her 2015 movie Surulere off its cinemas in its second week.
According to CEAN’s report, La Femme Anjola currently tops the box office in second place grossing ₦8,102,100 in its first week from screening in 49 locations. Many reacted to Okwo’s complaints, stating that Genevieve Nnaji had called them out on the same thing following the release of her 2018 film Lionheart
Mildred Okwo previously spoke about how poorly cinema companies handle film distribution. The director even revealed that because of cinema politics, she delayed the release of La Femme Anjola for maximum profits. She even said that because of the time, effort, and funds she invested in making the movie, if theatres did not properly distibute La Femme Anjola, she would stop giving them her films. It looks now like the superstar director may have to keep her word.