Communiqué 55: How Nigeria’s film industry can go global

We explored why Nigeria’s film industry has struggled with global commercial success. Now, we outline how it can turn the tide.

1. When Nigerian stories go global

When Paramount Pictures secured the rights to adapt Tomi Adeyemi’s New York Times bestselling novel Children of Blood and Bone in 2022, it was seen as a milestone for Nigerian storytelling on the global stage. The deal, part of a three-film franchise, sparked excitement for its potential to bring a richly imagined Nigerian narrative to international audiences. Yet, the recent release of the film’s cast has reignited a contentious debate about who gets to tell Nigerian stories and how.

The ensemble, which includes Thuso Mbedu, Amandla Stenberg, Damson Idris, and Viola Davis—with Regina King in talks to join—is undeniably star-studded. However, the non-inclusion of Nigerian actors in key roles has drawn criticism, echoing past controversies around adaptations like Half of a Yellow Sun and, more recently, the upcoming Things Fall Apart series starring Idris Elba. While celebrated for their ambition, these projects have repeatedly faced scrutiny for sidelining Nigerian talent in favor of global star power.

In casting these actors, the producers of these projects sought to balance the demands of cultural authenticity, global appeal, and financial expectations by leveraging star power to attract international audiences. In Communiqué 43, we explained the logic behind this, with a particular focus on the Things Fall Apart adaptation:

“Things Fall Apart is now a global product, having been translated into over 60 languages, including Arabic, Basque, Greek, Hindi, Italian, and Swedish. Therefore, it makes sense that a 2024 adaptation will appeal to a wider, global audience. This strategy will require making hard decisions, such as bringing on investors, actors, and crew members who are neither Nigerian nor speak Igbo, the language of the book’s locale. Furthermore, it is impossible to ignore the financial limitations of Nigeria’s film market. For instance, the highest-grossing Nigerian movie of all time, A Tribe Called Judah, has brought in 1.4 billion naira ($853,000). The top five movies have brought in a combined 3.5 billion naira ($2.2 million)—that’s less than it would cost to even get a star like Elba onboard the Things Fall Apart ship.”

Many argue that these casting decisions have erased the cultural identities the stories aimed to celebrate. But the films’ producers are not at fault. Over the years, the lack of investment in Nollywood’s production quality and distribution systems has made it difficult for the industry to lead its own adaptations.

The result is a paradox: Nigerian stories are going global, but Nollywood, the industry that birthed them, is left behind.

In Communiqué 54, we explained how this state of affairs came to be. Now, we ask, how does the industry move forward?