ABSTRACT
This research is on Cinema Patronage in Nigeria. It examines its rise and decline taking into consideration the advent of television, videotapes and videocassettes recorder technologies as alternatives to cinema viewership. Nigerians in their majority posses the VCDS/VHS machines and therefore, prefer watching movies in the comfort of their homes. The question is this, inspite of these technologies that have made a change in the movie-viewing experience; do cinema houses still exist in Nigeria? If they still exist, what are their patronages like? These are the problems and burning questions that this research tries to answers. The method used in gathering data is the survey method comprising the questionnaire and interview types. The method used in analyzing and presenting data for the study is the simple percentage method of analysis of data. The findings discovered from the research are that cinema houses still exist in Nigeria and very few are operational. Majority of them need quick attention as / they are fast dilapidating. Cinema patronage can bring about development in the film industry in the country if it is promptly and properly developed by not just cmema owners but by the government as the paramount stakeholder in the industry.
