“Ghallywood“
That is what Ghana’s movie and TV industry is officially called. It’s a combination of “Ghana” and “Hollywood”. Most would say the name is unoriginal and uninspiring.
That’s debatable for sure but as far as the movie industry producing value, there’s where most would say the industry struggles.
The Ghana movie industry appears to be in free fall. Movies are still getting produced and well-known actors are still starring in them. Unfortunately, that might be the issue with the same actors always playing similar roles. Even though movie premieres still get fanfare, the future of movies appears to moving towards streaming platforms like Netflix and Disney.
Currently, there is not much data to map out the Ghana movie industry as far as size and monetary value. The average cost of producing a local movie could easily range from $50,000 to $100,000 and above.
But with streaming platforms seemingly becoming the dominant form of movie viewership, especially among young people, is Ghallywood doing enough to embrace streaming for the future of the industry?
Where Do Movies Go After They Premiere?
Most Ghanaian movie studios set up elaborate opening nights at the Silverbird Movie Cinema in the capital city of Accra, for the launch of their movies. These “red carpet” events produce a lot of fanfare and buzz for the studios.
But after the movie premieres and has a short run in the cinema, some of these movies, unfortunately, can’t be found online for future viewership.
Showmax is Multichoice’s answer to streaming. The service offers DSTV content as well as original programming for its subscribers. As part of its original programming, Showmax has been making original shows like ENO and Dede.
Some production studios like Sparrow Productions have their own streaming platform where users pay a fee to access their movies and TV shows. They also license some of their movies to bigger platforms like Netflix.
Just like any other streaming platform, users pay a monthly subscription to view the content or they pay a fee to rent a movie for 24 hours.
Overall, Showmax is estimated to have about 861,000 subscribers at the end of 2021 across Africa. The question is how many of these subscribers are Ghanaian?
Unfortunately, we have no data to know how well these production studios like Sparrow are doing when it comes to viewership or finances.
Multichoice To The Rescue?
DSTV is a household name in Ghana. Having the iconic satellite dish in your home made other households green with envy because DTSV owners had access to foreign movies and sports including the English Premier League.
Whether or not streaming services like Netflix were the catalyst, Multichoice has moved into the streaming business to capture local audiences who are fans of Ghanaian movies and TV shows.
Showmax is Multichoice’s answer to streaming. The service offers DSTV content as well as original programming for its subscribers. As part of its original programming, Showmax has been making original shows like ENO and Dede.
Overall, Showmax is estimated to have about 861,000 subscribers at the end of 2021 across Africa. The question is how many of these subscribers are Ghanaian?
A lot of credit has to be given to Showmax as they appear to be in the front seat when it comes to the production of local Ghanaian TV content.
Is There A Need For A “Netflix” For Ghana?
There is a big catalog of Ghanaian movies and TV shows. Unfortunately, most of all over the place when it comes to finding and viewing them.
As an industry, Ghallywood hasn’t really taken the lead when it comes to having their local content readily available for users to watch.
In the US, movie studios and production houses are all moving into streaming which has set off the “streaming wars” with the likes of Netflix, Disney, Apple, NBC, Paramount, and a host of others battling it out to get subscribers for their platforms.
It would make sense locally for the industry to pull all the movie studios together and build up its platform to host its own movies and TV shows. The business model would be for users to pay a monthly subscription to access. Having a payment method like mobile money could also be an advantage.
Of course, this is just an idea that has holes. Most of the popular shows on Showmax and Netflix Nigeria are being funded by the platforms. Ghallywood might have enough capital to produce original programming.
There has been lots of talk about the Ghanaian movie industry going downhill. Currently, it’s hard to say that Ghallywood is an actual industry. There are productions houses but everything feels “closed off” and we keep getting the same cast for different movies with no pipeline for new talent to grace movies screens. Data, including how much money movies make at the box office are unavailable.
The advent of streaming services might be a Godsend. Netflix has set up shop in Nigeria and is producing movies and TV Shows. There’s no word yet on if Netflix will do the same for Ghana but they do house Ghanaian movies.
Meanwhile, Multichoice is currently running point on producing local content for streaming with its Showmax platform.
Will international players like Disney and Amazon do the same? Or will they wait it out and see if anything comes out of it. Or will the industry itself just build its own platform and house all its movies and TV shows there?
We’ll have to wait and see.
