As Amazon has made its way into the Nigerian scene, announcing itself by taking on established works, announcing originals, and partnerships, Netflix has also offered a reminder of its hold in the country’s market. No sooner had the message ‘ja pa to Amazon Prime’ come to the fore than Netflix puts its foot on the ground, in terms of Nigerian projects. A few Nigerian films that hit cinemas last year have moved to the streaming platform, while a few originals have also dropped. One of those is Anikulapo, the Double-Kunle act that hit Netflix in late September. Directed by Kunle Afolayan, Anikul ..read more

For Jade Osiberu, this is meant to be the final act. For the renowned filmmaker, Brotherhood is meant to be her swansong – or her last in a while – in terms of Nollywood cinematic releases. Gangs of Lagos remain highly anticipated, but that won’t be in cinemas, as it becomes another of the works that will herald the era of the relationship between Amazon Prime and Nigerian motion projects. So, Brotherhood can definitely read like a radical parting gift, being a movie from a genre that isn’t a Nollywood staple: ACTION. There are reasons why action movies are not commonplace (read: non-existent ..read more

There’s always some scepticism when people in different fields of entertainment get into the acting scene in Nollywood. That scepticism isn’t exactly out of place; given the frequency with which that happens, and also the fact that it results in far from commendable performances on-screen. It’s probably not untrue to say Bovi Ugboma also faced that form of scepticism when he moved from solely being a comedian to also being an actor. You could say Bovi usually plays typecast roles; in many cases he’s a comedian in a film, rather than someone actually acting. As such, it was interesting to see h ..read more

How much are high-stakes comedy pics a thing? Films that exist primarily for laughs and hysteria, but their serious bits are very much ingrained in jeopardy. Or rather, even the comical parts still show the sense of urgency and jeopardy in the film. Prophetess all but falls into that category: a high-stakes comedy, with a plot that has a fair bit riding on it. Quiz: Which Toyin Abraham film are you? Directed by Niyi Akinmolayan (Elevator Baby, Arbitration), Prophetess stars Toyin Abraham as Ajoke, a prophetess (duh!!) who gains prominence due to an Instagram video and a couple of predictions ..read more

Biodun Stephen had a rather eventful 2021 in the cinematic arena for Nollywood. Starting off with a very original and very Biodun-Stephen-y Breaded Life in April of last year, which was followed with the Progressive Tailors’ Club collaboration with Anthill, and then the box office big name that was Aki and Paw-Paw. And this prominent filmmaker looks to be heading for another eventful year in 2022, with A Simple Lie, which dropped in late March, and now Strangers, the emotionally uplifting motion picture. Directed by Biodun Stephen, Strangers is written by Anthony Eloka Ogbu, recently screened ..read more

Anthology movies are not quite a thing in the Nigerian film industry, and that’s probably putting it mildly. The concept of niche films and arthouse cinema is still one Nollywood hasn’t come to terms with, anthologies fall into that category, and Juju Stories proves that point. From the Surreal16 Collective, this is a movie that approaches a month in cinemas, and has barely made a splash in the Nigerian box office. Juju Stories is a film that contains three parts; Love Potion, Yam, and Suffer the Witch, which were respectively directed by Michael Omonua, Abba T. Makama, and CJ Obasi. Produced ..read more

Since it dropped in the middle of December 2021, Marvel’s Spider-Man: No Way Home became quite hard to shake off at the Nigerian box office standings, to put it mildly. The third Spider-Man film from the MCU set post-pandemic records globally, and domestically here, it planted its feet at the number one spot for nearly six weeks. But the latest box office charts saw the movie get dislodged from that lofty position, thanks to an impressive debut from Dinner at My Place, the new Nollywood release. Directed by Kevin Luther Apaa, Dinner at My Place shot its way to the top of the box office charts ..read more

For Maria Ebun Pataki was one of the movies that screened on Day Four of the Nollywood Week Film Festival for 2021. Directed by Damilola Orimogunje, this movie was part of the line-up to close what was a memorable film festival, before then making its way to Netflix. For Maria Ebun Pataki stars Meg Otanwa as Derin, a woman who experiences painful childbirth, and the experiences of the aftermath of it. This movie also features Gabriel Afolayan, Tina Mba, and Judith Audu. For Maria Ebun Pataki is a movie about an area of life, for women, that hasn’t been really touched on via cinema. Derin goes ..read more

Christmas in Miami has made quite a splash since dropping in cinemas back during the dying embers of 2021. This Christmas Eve release has gone north of the N100 million mark in three weeks at the Nigerian box office, an impressive feat, even without factoring in the effects of the pandemic. Robert Peters directs Christmas in Miami, the latest instalment in the Ayo ‘AY’ Makun led Akpos movie series. Alongside AY, this movie also features Richard Mofe-Damijo, Osita Iheme, Tanya Price, Desiree Farnum, and John Amos. In fairness, the Akpos film series hasn’t quite lit up in any real way. There’s t ..read more

Sola Osofisan has something of the honour of opening the floor for Nollywood’s cinematic releases for the year. The first week of 2022 ended with Over Her Dead Body in cinemas, the opening Nollywood pic that made its way their – Chief Daddy: Going for Broke wins the unrecognised prize for first feature-length pic of 2022, having dropped on New Year’s Day. Directed by Osofisan, Over Her Dead Body stars Binta Ayo Mogaji, alongside Nse Ikpe Etim, Shola Onomor, Taiwo Solanke, Adenike Ayodele, Uche Mac-Auley, and Gregory Ojefua. Opening to a lowkey debut at the latest Nigerian box office – ranking ..read more