Rewriting the SA cinema script

Movie theatres are empty but South African stories are abundant — what’s the disconnect?

- Khanyi Zondi

As a regular patron of South African cinemas, I've come to appreciate the feeling of being alone in the theatre.

As a team at Sinema Agency, which does marketing and promotion for films, we make a point of visiting the cinema at least once a month, exploring films that spark our interest.

Recently, I found myself watching A Scam Called Love at the Pavilion in Cape Town, completely alone. This solitude left me reflecting on a question that has been growing louder in my mind: What would it take to reignite the cinema-going culture in South Africa?

This was compounded by a conversation I had with a colleague who tried to see the Issa Rae-produced One of Them Days in Durban, only to find it wasn't playing in any local cinemas. This situation, while frustrating, isn't an isolated incident and ties into a much larger conversation around the accessibility of cinema and the importance of cultivating a dedicated audience for local films.

However, despite the potential, in our two years of operation at Sinema, we've yet to work on a project with a theatrical release. Most of the films we have handled have either been for streaming or festival-run projects, where cinemas have been used only for the premieres.

Working as a film PR agency across South Africa and Nigeria, we've noticed distinct patterns in how audiences engage with local content.

In Nigeria, there is a strong push for homegrown stories, with Nollywood continuing to dominate screens and streaming platforms alike. Nigerian audiences actively seek out and support locally made films, which, in turn, fuels investment in domestic productions.

South Africa has struggled to achieve that level of local audience engagement. There is an urgent need to develop a strong theatrical ecosystem that prioritises local films, creating a culture where audiences look forward to local releases as much as they do to Hollywood blockbusters.