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Kunle Afolayan is set to return to cinemas with Recall following its premiere at AFRIFF 2024. This marks another theatrical release in his evolving career which goes all the way back from his early successes to his deep integration into the streaming era.
Afolayan gained major recognition as a director with The Figurine (Araromire) in 2009, a supernatural thriller distributed by Silverbird that played a crucial role in redefining Nollywood’s cinematic standards at the time. Starring Ramsey Nouah, Omoni Oboli, Funlola Aofiyebi-Raimi, and Afolayan himself, the film tells the story of three friends whose lives are altered after discovering a mystical statue.
The Figurine, now available on YouTube, grossed approximately ₦30 million and won multiple awards, including Best Picture at the Africa Movie Academy Awards. It was also lauded for its cinematography and storytelling, helping set a new standard for Nollywood films aiming for international acclaim and theatrical pathway.
In the last few years, Afolayan turned to Netflix in a multi-year partnership, with streaming taking the forefront in his distribution strategy. His 2025 return to the big screen is significant, considering his last major theatrical release was 2019’s Mokalik. In 2022, his Netflix film Aníkúlápó had a brief theatrical run, mainly to meet Oscars requirements.
His partnership with Netflix led to multiple projects, including the period drama Swallow (2021), the holiday film A Naija Christmas (2021), the teen drama Ìjọ̀gbọ̀n (2023) and the Yoruba epic Aníkúlápó (2022), setting his sights beyond Nigerian cinema halls to a global audience. “There’s never been a greater time for us, where you have so many Nigerian stories being shown to the whole world!” the celebrated filmmaker remarked when the deal was announced in 2021.
Among these, the sequel series Aníkúlápó: Rise of the Spectre was his best-performing project on Netflix, staying in the Top 10 for 10 weeks in Nigeria, amassing over 13M viewed hours. In the films category, the original film Anikulapo hit the number 1 spot on the global top 10 for non-English films after its first full week, as well as the top 10 in 24 countries.
Ìjọ̀gbọ̀n claimed a global Top 10 spot and ranked Top 10 in 16 countries in its first two weeks, including countries in the Caribbean, Poland, and Romania, with almost 16M hours viewed. A Naija Christmas appeared in the top 10 in 16 countries with over 2M hours viewed, all according to data from Netflix and FlixPatrol.
Since Netflix restrategised its operations in Nigeria, Afolayan has begun venturing into YouTube as a pathway with his recently launched channel KAPStream, with plans to re-release some of his acclaimed earlier films after their Netflix licensing ended last year, and classics by Adeyemi ‘Ade Love’ Afolayan. So far, he has made The CEO, The Figurine, and Phone Swap available on the channel. In addition to these full-length films, Afolayan also plans to share shorter projects and exclusive content.
With Recall heading to cinemas from April 4, distributed by Cinemax, Afolayan remains focused on making his films accessible. The psychological drama stars Sharon Ooja in the lead role, alongside an ensemble cast that includes Olarotimi Fakunle, Patience Ozokwor, Shan George, Bimbo Akintola, and Jimmy Jean-Louis. It follows the story of a man whose world is turned upside down when his wife suddenly forgets him and their children.
Also in the works from Afolayan is Aníkúlápó season 2, a project heading to Netflix and expected to continue his exploration of Yoruba mythology, and the season particularly highlighting the complex realities of slave trade.
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