Basketmouth exposes

Basketmouth exposes Kunle Afolayan and other movie producers as he reveals why Netflix is leaving Nigerian market 

Nigerian comedian and actor Bright Okpocha, popularly known as Basketmouth, has caused a stir online with his recent revelations about the Nigerian movie industry and its relationship with global streaming giant Netflix.

The entire Nollywood industry and its fans have been left in a devastating state following the shocking news of Netflix’s exit from the Nigerian market. Reports reveal that Netflix officially ceased operations in Nigeria in November 2024, withdrawing the financial support that streaming platforms had been providing to boost Nigerian movie production.

This decision has also led to the cancellation of several Nigerian original projects, leaving producers and filmmakers grappling with the fallout of losing a major avenue for global distribution and funding.

In a recent interview with Arise TV, Basketmouth, who had recently released his blockbuster movie, ‘A Ghetto Love Story’, openly discussed major challenges facing the industry, calling out celebrities like Kunle Afolayan, Bolanle Austen-Peters, Femi Adebayo, Odunlade Adekola and other movie producers while explaining Netflix’s possible reduction in investments in Nigeria.

According to the comedian, Netflix provided $1.5 million to movie producers for various projects, but the funds were mismanaged. He claimed that filmmakers spent only 10% of the money on the actual movies and used the rest to purchase houses and cars.

In his words, “When streaming platforms entered Nigeria, they gave money to producers to make movies. However, most of them would use about 10% to produce the movie and use the rest to buy houses and cars. I won’t mention names, but they know themselves. I am not saying all of them but most of them. They are about 70% and more. To the point that the streaming platforms want to deal with the actors direct. These people will still go behind and tell actors to pay half back to them. You can verify this.”