The Story ⚡
The highest-grossing theatrical film of 2023 “A Tribe Called Judah” has been leaked online and is now officially in danger of revenue shortfall.
Tell Me More
In the late hours of Wednesday, an HD version of the action drama directed by Funke Akindele and Adeoluwa Owu was posted on a telegram channel for members to download for free. The version which is slightly different from the theatrical cut has now hit piracy sites where anyone can download without monetization.
A Tribe Called Judah produced by Funke Akindele began its theatrical run on 15th December 2023 and has grossed over 750M at the Nigerian box office. This piracy leak could affect its box office sales which have been tremendously strong since its big-screen debut
How Did This Happen?
Based on our findings, the pirated version couldn’t have been from cinemas as there was no watermark code on the copy. As a standing business protocol for exhibitors, access to theatrical products is either via an encrypted DSP or a watermarked licensed file for box office sales to be carried out.
This means that the leaked copy may have been illegally obtained from a non-cinema source.
Tangent
Piracy has always been a major headache for Nollywood producers and more so for Funke Akindele whose acclaimed long-running series “Jenifa’s Diary” was virally pirated upon its popularity.
Back in 2023, Femi Adebayo arrested a DVD prate seller who had an illegal copy of his Netflix original feature “Jagun Jagun”
🟢⚡️JUST IN: The makers of “Jagun Jagun” have arrested a DVD pirate seller of the feature title only available to stream on Netflix Platforms
>> In a statement, Femi Adebayo shares how piracy is a grave impediment to the creative industry and has issued a public warning to any… pic.twitter.com/3cMNDGledx
— S H ⚡ C K ! (@Shockng) August 22, 2023
In Summary
Piracy often reflects market failures in an economy rather than moral failures on the part of consumers. The terrible situation that just arose reiterates the need for a strong Nigerian digital copyright law and movie consumer education funding that will curb the rise of piracy consumers.
