Amazon's going to Nollywood -- and its deals with studios could shake up one of the world's most prolific filmmaking hubs
Left
to right: Inkblot Productions founders Chinaza Onuzo, Zulumoke Oyibo
and Damola Ademola. The company has signed a licensing deal with Amazon
Prime Video.
(CNN)In its hunt for content, Amazon Prime Video has turned to Nigeria, where it has secured key deals with studios that could shake up business in Africa's most prolific filmmaking hub.
In
recent months, the US giant has signed exclusive streaming agreements
with Inkblot Productions and Anthill Studios -- which say the deals will
fundamentally change the way they operate.
Chinaza
Onuzo, co-founder of Inkblot Productions, the studio behind domestic
hits "The Wedding Party" and "Up North," told CNN Business the company
has signed a three-year licensing deal running through to 2024. The deal
will see Inkblot's upcoming releases move onto Amazon's platform after
showing in cinemas.
"This
allows us to plan long-term," Onuzo says. Instead of film-by-film
commissioning, the company is looking at possible intellectual property
deals and franchise potential in Inkblot's existing titles. "It has
given us the opportunity to broaden the genres that we explore (and)
given us the opportunity to work with a with a wider mix of filmmakers
and talents," he adds.
Anthill
Studios produces original features and animation, releasing titles
including "Prophetess" and "Day of Destiny" (the latter a co-production
with Inkblot). Its films will also appear on Prime Video after a
theatrical window, in a multi-year agreement.
"We
jumped at the deal," says founder and creative director Niyi
Akinmolayan. "We've practically doubled the size of our budgets ...
we've become a lot more ambitious with the kind of stories we want to
tell."
What the deals will do for studios and cinemas
Nigeria's film industry, nicknamed "Nollywood," produces thousands of movies every year and the country's entertainment and media market is projected to have double-digit growth between 2021 and 2025, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Amazon's deal with Inkblot in December 2021
was the first of its kind to be struck between the streaming giant,
which has 200 million subscribers, and an African studio. The Anthill
deal followed a month later.
Niyi Akinmolayan, founder of Anthill Studios, has directed some of Nollywood's highest-grossing films.
Anthill's
Akinmolayan, also a film director, says Amazon has been hands off so
far. "They're not telling you the kind of films to make," he says. "They
have zero input on creativity -- that's very appealing to any
filmmaker."
This
is intentional, Amazon suggests. "We believe that if Nollywood
filmmakers focus on telling compelling, authentic, hyper-local and
universally accessible stories -- that are grounded in the rich history,
lived experiences and culture of Nigeria -- those stories will travel
and will engage audiences around the world," said Ayanna Lonian,
director of content acquisition and head of worldwide major studio
licensing strategy at Amazon Prime Video, in an email to CNN.
Lonian
says the aim is to both diversify Prime Video's offering to its global
audience and make the platform a more appealing product for Nigerian
audiences.
Amazon
does not share subscriber figures for individual countries. Akinmolayan
believes the Nigerian diaspora will be the primary beneficiary of the
new content, explaining that awareness of the subscription service in
Nigeria was not high. "Very few people know that they can actually
download the Amazon app and pay for it here," he says, "that's because
Amazon hasn't fully unleashed a plan for (the service)."
In the meantime, the deals could have an impact on domestic cinemas.
Anthill's
deal involves separate licenses for each film, the value of which is
determined in part by the film's theatrical box office. This is an
incentive to "build cinema culture," Akinmolayan argues.
"Even
though it feels to a lot of people that (streaming) platforms are
coming to kill cinemas, in this case they will probably do the reverse
and actually encourage people to make more for cinema," he says.
Nancy Isime in Inkblot Productions' 2021 film "Superstar."
Onuzo
says the share of box office for Nigerian films in domestic cinemas has
risen in recent years, but foreign-made blockbusters still dominate
receipts. He describes Inkblot's audience as "both discerning and
forgiving," given the huge budget disparities between homegrown titles
and foreign movies.
"You
have to deliver entertainment that is on a commensurate scale to what
Hollywood films are doing," he explains. "You can't meet the spectacle,
but you can meet the truth: what it means to be a Nigerian; what it
means for people to see themselves on screen ... That is something that,
no matter what their budget is, (no) Hollywood title can compete
(with)."
That said, "when you're a Nigerian film and you're competing with a Marvel film, you can only pray," jokes Akinmolayan.
The next chapter
The
next stage of Prime Video's move into the African market is already
underway. Lonian said discussions on developing and commissioning Amazon
Originals -- series or films produced or co-produced by Amazon -- were
taking place with producers and talent.
"We
attended the African International Film Festival (AFRIFF) in November
to start really meaningful engagement with the production industry in
Africa," she added. "Our message is that we're very much open for
business."
Akinmolayan behind the camera on a recent production.
For
Anthill and Inkblot, their immediate focus is on their upcoming slates.
Onuzo says Inkblot has seven films in various stages from production,
while Akinmolayan names crime drama "The Man for the Job," a romantic
comedy, and an "X-Men"-style superhero movie among Anthill's future
titles.
"We
are very excited, because we feel that there's a significant
opportunity for Nigerian and African filmmakers to fully engage with the
world over the next three to five years," says Onuzo. "It's a good time
to be an African content creator."
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