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Black Film Wire Special Report
Inside the 2025 Nigerian Box Office Five-Part Series | Market Intelligence Initiative Nollywood vs. Hollywood: Who Really Ran Nigerian Cinemas in 2025? The answer is more complicated — and more interesting — than the talking points suggest. Every year, a version of the same argument plays out in Nigerian film circles: Nollywood is taking over, or Hollywood is still king. The 2025 data makes both claims look lazy. The real picture is a market of deliberate coexistence — with v

Sahndra Fon Dufe
Mar 102 min read


Son of the Soil Reaches No. 1 on Netflix Nigeria Top 10 Chart
British-Chinese Director, Chee Keong Cheung ’s action thriller, Son of the Soil , has attained the top spot on the Netflix Nigeria Top 10 Chart less than 24 hours after release. This follows the film’s arrival on the streaming giant, after impressive showings at the 2025 African International Film Festival (AFRIFF) and Black Star International Film Festival (BSIFF) and the 2026 Pan-Afriican Film Festival . The film follows Zion Ladejo ( Razaq Adoti ), an ex Nigerian soldie

John Eriomala
Mar 31 min read


Black Film Wire Special Report
Inside the 2025 Nigerian Box Office Five-Part Series | Market Intelligence Initiative The Films That Defined Nigeria's 2025 Box Office Behind the Scenes made history. But the real story is what the full top-10 list tells us about where Nollywood is headed. Nigeria's cinema market generated ₦15.6 billion in total box office revenue in 2025, across 2.8 million admissions — a 48% year-on-year revenue jump and a second consecutive year of attendance recovery. Those are the headli

Sahndra Fon Dufe
Mar 32 min read


The Ground Between Us: Faith, Ambition, and the Space Between
A Review of Eso Dike’s Latest Film Official poster for The Ground Between Us. Source: Eso Dike TV/YouTube There is a particular kind of courage required to tell a story that touches the sacred; not a polished, stained-glass version of it, but the raw, complicated, unglamorous reality of faith working itself out in a human being. Eso Dike 's The Ground Between Us , now streaming on YouTube via Eso Dike TV , reaches for that courage. And while it doesn't fully arrive in every

Sahndra Fon Dufe
Mar 39 min read


Sinners’ Awards Season Momentum Surges With Actor Awards Haul
A shocked Michael B. Jordan receives his Actor Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Lead Role. Source: Actor Awards The 32nd annual Actors Awards (fka The Screen Actors Guild Awards/SAG-AFTRA Awards) held on Sunday March 1, 2027. It proved to be a mix of upsets, expected wins, and exciting moments, with Sinners setting the tone for the night with two wins. In a shocking yet deserving twist, Michael B. Jordan took home the statuette for Outstanding Perform

John Eriomala
Mar 14 min read


The Democratization Paradox: AI Is Rewriting Hollywood's Rules, and Black Creatives Cannot Afford to Watch From the Sidelines
From Seedance 2.0's cease-and-desist battle with Disney to the first AI-directed features reaching theatrical release, the creative industry faces a structural transformation. For Black filmmakers, the moment carries both historic opportunity and familiar risk. The letter arrived on a Tuesday. Disney's legal team sent ByteDance a cease-and-desist demanding the immediate removal of Seedance 2.0's training data, alleging the AI video platform had ingested a library of copyrigh

Sahndra Fon Dufe
Feb 2810 min read


Interview: Nigerian Box Office Talks Origins, Filling the Info Gap, and Lessons for Nollywood Fans and Filmmakers
In the last decade, across film, TV, music and other media, there has been a notable shift in how consumers engage with tart. Access to previously distant data and unmasking of the celebrity mythos a la social media, among other factors, have made it such that fans are more invested in the product, producers, and the business. A random Hollywood enthusiast living on the other side of the planet can easily tell you what actors and directors make the most money. Disagreements a

John Eriomala
Feb 269 min read


St. Kitts and Nevis Updates Citizenship Programme: Why It Matters for International Black Film Stakeholders
St. Kitts and Nevis implements mandatory biometric data for Citizenship by Investment Programme. What Black film stakeholders need to know about mobility The Citizenship by Investment Unit of St. Kitts and Nevis has announced the upcoming implementation of mandatory biometric data collection for all new applicants under its Citizenship by Investment Programme (CBI), with the measure expected to take effect before the end of Q1 2026. The initiative aligns the Federation’s secu

Sahndra Fon Dufe
Feb 243 min read


Final Draft Updates Its Terms of Service: Here's What Every Filmmaker Needs to Know Before Your Scripts Are Gone
Final Draft updated its Terms of Service in 2026. Here's what Black filmmakers, screenwriters, and indie film students need to know before your scripts disappear. When a company like Final Draft updates its Terms of Service and End User License Agreement , it's easy to dismiss as legal housekeeping. But that is not the case If you're building IP, pitching streamers, developing festival-bound scripts, or working on anything you intend to own and monetize, those terms directly

Sahndra Fon Dufe
Feb 246 min read


From My Father’s Shadow Statement Victory to Wumi Mosaku's Oscars Race Upset: 3 Significant Black Moments From the 2026 BAFTAs
Our breakdown of 3 significant Black moments from the 2026 BAFTAs: Wumi Mosaku's upset win, Ryan Coogler's historic Sinners victories, and My Father's Shadow impact . From L-R: Wumi Mosaku, Ryan Coogler, and Akinola Davie Jr. The 2026 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards took place yesterday, 22nd February 2026, at the Royal Festival Hall, London. The Awards, which serve as one of the major stops in the 2026 Awards season, leading up to the Oscars in March, pr

John Eriomala
Feb 235 min read


Editi Effiong’s “Black Book” Sequel in Production, “Severance” Producer Nicholas Weinstock’s Invention Films Involved
First look at The Black Book 2 - Old Scores Source: What Kept Me Up Nigerian Director Editi Effiong ’s 2023 action thriller The Black Book , is set for a sequel, The Black Book 2 - Old Scores , produced by his company, Anakle Films, in collaboration with Emmy-nominated producer Nicky Weinstock ’s ( Severance , Escape at Dannemora , Bridesmaids , Queenpins , Thelma ) Invention Studios, as seen in an exclusive report by The Hollywood Reporter and announcements made via soci

John Eriomala
Feb 212 min read


“We wanted to conjure a picture of the Nigeria we know and love” - Akinola Davies Jr., Rachel Dargavel, and Funmbi Ogunbanwo on Making “My Father’s Shadow”
Exclusive interview: Akinola Davies Jr., Rachel Dargavel & Funmbi Ogunbanwo discuss making My Father's Shadow, Nigeria's first Cannes competition film. From L-R: Akinola Davies Jr., Rachel Dargavel, Funmi Ogunbanwo, Wale Davies, and Sope Disiru. Image: Fatherland Productions Some films announce themselves quietly, arriving without fanfare before lodging themselves somewhere deep and permanent. My Father's Shadow , the debut feature from Nigerian-British filmmaker Akinola Dav

Jerry Chiemeke
Feb 2017 min read


Love Is Blind Season 10: Casting Optics, Edit Architecture, and the Audience Anthropology of a Maturing Franchise
Netflix ’s Love Is Blind entered its tenth U.S. installment in Ohio carrying a familiar paradox: a new location, but narrative structures and audience reactions that feel increasingly predictable. Victor St John and Christine Hamilton (Love is Blind Season 10)| Netflix Netflix's Love Is Blind entered its tenth U.S. installment in Ohio carrying a familiar paradox: a new location (Ohio), but narrative structures and audience reactions that feel increasingly predictable. At ten

Sahndra Fon Dufe
Feb 196 min read


Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde’s Directorial Debut Mother’s Love Screens at PAFF, Extending Strategic Festival Rollout Ahead of Nigerian March Premiere
Nile-Distributed Mother’s Love Advances Global Festival Campaign Star of the evening, Omotola Jalade Ekeinde, in Ade Bakare London. Image: Sammy Oguejiofor Los Angeles, California- February 16, 2026 Following a successful international festival trajectory from the Silicon Valley Africa Film Festival (SVAFF) to the 50th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Mother's Love , the directorial debut of Nollywood legend, TIME 100 honoree, and global screen force Omotola Jala

Sahndra Fon Dufe
Feb 194 min read


Pamela Adie’s Narrative Debut Feature ìfẹ́: The Sequel Set For 2026 BFI Flare Film Festival World Premiere
Pamela Adie's ìfẹ́: The Sequel premieres at BFI Flare 2026. Nigerian LGBTQ filmmaker's narrative debut explores queer love and identity in Lagos. Nigerian LGBTQIA+ Filmmaker Pamela Adie ’s narrative debut feature ìfẹ́: The Sequel is set to make its its world premiere on March 23, 2026 at the 40th edition of the BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival . The film, which is the highly anticipated follow-up to the 2020 short ìfẹ́ will be showing at BFI Southbank, London,

John Eriomala
Feb 172 min read


Rev. Jesse Jackson, Civil Rights Giant, Dies at 84
Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, whose legacy extended from marching with MLK to running for President twice and shaping Black American history, dies at 84. The Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson Sr., one of the most significant civil rights leaders in American history, has died at 84. According to a statement from his family, Jackson passed away peacefully on Tuesday morning. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2017 and had been battling Progressive Supranuclear

John Eriomala
Feb 173 min read


Nile Entertainment Secures UIP Deal as Exclusive Theatrical Distributor for Universal and Paramount Pictures in West Africa
Nile Entertainment , a subsidiary of Nile Media Entertainment Group, is set to become the sole theatrical distributor for Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures films across West Africa, following an appointment by United International Pictures. The deal is set to take effect from February 27, 2026 and will see the company take over exclusively for UIP in ‘key markets, including Ghana and Nigeria’. According to a Press Release shared via social media by Nile Group CEO,

John Eriomala
Feb 142 min read


10 Iconic African Love Stories from the CD and DVD Era
You know that feeling when you stumble on an old Nollywood or Ghallywood film on YouTube and suddenly it's 3 AM and you're crying over a love triangle that involves juju, class warfare, and at least two people pretending to be dead, BlackBerry in hand? That's " jakusco" energy, the beautifully chaotic, melodramatic African love stories from the late 90s to the early 2010s that defined a generation, with raw emotional performances that prioritized drama and cultural depth. I

Sahndra Fon Dufe
Feb 134 min read


Next Narrative Africa Fund Unveils 13-Member Advisory Board To Oversee Deployment of $50 Million in Commercial Equity and Grants
The Akunna Cook-led fund, intending to deploy $50 million in support of audio-visual content made by African and African-diaspora creators, has set up an advisory board. In an exclusive announcement via The Hollywood Reporter , also shared via their newsletter, the Next Narrative Africa Fund (NNAF), a content and media investment vehicle targeting $50 million in support of audio-visual content made by African and African-diaspora creators, has unveiled a 13-member advisory

John Eriomala
Feb 132 min read


Sundance Film Festival 2026: Praise Odigie's “Birdie” is a Quiet Portrait of Refugee Grief
Birdie at Sundance 2026: Nigerian-American director Praise Paige Odigie crafts a moving portrait of a Biafran refugee family navigating loss and identity Once upon a time, a mother and her two daughters lived in the American countryside. They were from another country, building a new life in the aftermath of a war between their people and those whom they once called compatriots. The older daughter believed her father was dead. Mother and younger teenage daughter believed he w

John Eriomala
Feb 126 min read
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