By Rita Okoye
Leading creative management and production outfit Temple Company has drawn attention to inaccuracies in the Nigerian Box-Office Year Book 2024 curated by cinema distribution company FilmOne.
Describing the report as a veritable opportunity to showcase the economic impact of the film industry, however, it faulted the parameters used in arriving at the ranking of her top talent, award-winning Nollywood actress Bisola Aiyeola, on the fourth spot in the top ten list of Highest Grossing Female in a Supporting Role.”
The company unequivocally made an urgent call for the reassessment. “We respectfully request a review of the ranking methodology and data aggregation process to ensure accuracy and fairness in representing our industry’s achievements, it said in the statement signed by Femi Salawu, Head of media Relations and Public Affairs.
Salawu affirmed, “Strategic talent advocacy is part of our service obligation to our clients as strong players in the creative sector. We have an unwavering commitment to represent our talents in the marketplace and ensure that they are fully motivated to continue to give their best. We demand African excellence from ourselves as we do from others and this is why our position is clear on where we stand.”
The organization noted furthermore, “Of specific concern is the misrepresentation of Bisola Aiyeola’s contributions to the year’s cinematic achievements. Despite delivering compelling performances as Supporting Lead in multiple successful productions, including “Everybody Loves Jenifa,” “Ajosepo,” “Muri,” and “Ko,” her significant role as Madam Bassey in “Everybody Loves Jenifa” was notably omitted from her box office aggregation.”
“This omission raises important questions about the methodology employed in the ranking system, particularly the classification criteria between lead and supporting lead roles, the consistency in applying these criteria across all evaluated performances, and the transparency of the data aggregation process.”
Disputing the dismissal of Bisola Aiyeola’s role as Madam Bassey in Everybody Loves Jenifa as Supporting Lead her box-office aggregation, Temple Company stated that the omission is a significant flaw capable of robbing the report of its credibility.
The statement added, “The traditional industry standard defines supporting roles based on screen time and narrative impact, with supporting actors having fewer but impactful appearances compared to leads. This established metric appears to have been inconsistently applied in the current rankings. Furthermore, this discrepancy extends to other performers, including Nancy Isime (ranked fifth), whose similar supporting roles in the same production received different classification treatments.
While the Nigeria Box Office Rankings represent a valuable opportunity to showcase our industry’s economic impact and market significance, such inconsistencies risk undermining its credibility as an industry benchmark.
While pledging the commitment of the organisation to drive creative sector growth, the company expressed its continued support for initiatives that promote transparency and accuracy in our industry’s reporting standards.
The Temple Company has been at the frontlines of driving creative sector growth through film and live event production, capacity development, and provision of cutting-edge audio/ visual recording services at her state-of-the-art Ogidi Studios.
