Filmmaker Kunle Afolayan has made it clear that he is not interested in chasing box office records, stressing that his focus is on creative freedom and long-term value rather than headline cinema earnings.
Speaking at the Lagos Business of Film Summit on January 30, Afolayan criticised the intense promotional culture surrounding cinema releases, describing it as exhausting.
He said, “It is draining. I want to make a film if you guarantee me that I don’t have to dance to sell that film.”
The filmmaker also questioned the obsession with billion-naira cinema figures, arguing that large grosses do not always benefit the creators behind the projects.
In his words, “There’s no competition. I don’t want two billion in cinema, or even one billion, if I won’t make ten million from it.”
Referencing his Netflix project Aníkúlápó: Rise of the Spectre, Afolayan noted that streaming platforms can deliver strong global reach without aggressive promotional tactics.
“Look at Anikulapo… we released just a screenshot, a screen grab of the series. I posted it and people have been starved of good content. The whole world went boom because they haven’t seen anything from us in a while,” he said.
Addressing a possible return to cinema distribution, Afolayan said he would only consider it under the right conditions.
“This year, if there’s a collaboration, we can make a great film and then we go to cinema. But we won’t dance,” he added.
In another video that surfaced online, the filmmaker doubled down on his position, saying, “I will continue to say it: there is no competition. I don’t want ₦2bn in the cinema. I don’t even want ₦1bn in the cinema if I can’t take ₦10m.”
His comments come at a time when Nollywood cinema releases are breaking revenue milestones, sparking wider conversations about promotion strategies, profit structures and the future of film distribution.