Nigeria - Pirated copies of Hollywood movie ‘The Commuter’ were displayed on sale in front of Genesis Cinemas, Novare Mall, Abuja, while it is still screening at the cinemas on Sunday.
The movie, which was released on January 12, 2018, currently has several show times in cinemas across the country.
The action thriller follows a man who is unwittingly recruited into a murder conspiracy after meeting a mysterious woman while on his daily train commute.
It was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and written by Byron Willinger, Philip de Blasi and Ryan Engle; and stars Liam Neeson in the lead role, alongside Vera Famiga, Patrick Wilson and Sam Neill.
A cinema show fee is between one thousand naira and one thousand, two hundred naira per person, while a pirated copy goes for two hundred and fifty naira.
The seller, who spoke anonymously, told the News Agency of Nigeria said that he got the CD copies from several dealers who supplied them at one hundred naira each.
When asked how the movies are gotten, he laughed it off and said there are download sites available where these movies can be downloaded for free.
He further explained that the downloaded movies are then burnt into discs and labelled to be sold to people who cannot download them.
On his choice of venue, he told NAN that he makes the most sales from selling in front of cinemas or malls as he catches the attention of people going to watch movies or shop.
He said sometimes sellers are chased during a piracy raid; however, nobody had come to disrupt his business yet at the mall.
The seller had other films on sale, including Nigerian blockbuster such as: ‘Wives on Strike’, ‘Ten days in Suncity’ and ‘The Wedding Party’.