On average, Africa produces 5,500 films per year, according to source reports conducted between November 2020 and May 2021. Nearly 3,400 films are produced annually in West Africa, a number driven mainly by low-budget productions from Nollywood, Nigeria’s cinema industry. . Similar production also spread through Kenya and Ethiopia. As a result, around 1,500 films are produced annually in East Africa.
Nollywood is Africa’s largest film industry in terms of the volume of films produced annually, as well as value, revenue, and popularity.
Arts, Entertainment and Culture is perhaps one of Nigeria’s most famous exports. Whether in music, with Afrobeats, or in movies, with the local film industry dubbed ‘Nollywood’, Nigeria has been using the creative arts for years.
In 2021, Nigeria accounted for 97% of the box office revenue in West Africa, making about 4.85 billion NGN (11.2 million USD). On a global scale, Nollywood beats Hollywood and is second only to India’s Bollywood in terms of the number of films produced each year. This is partly due to the large number of cheaply funded productions undertaken by the industry.
This is not to say that there have not been high-quality productions before.
However, in recent years, there has been a more significant shift towards high-quality productions that have received international acclaim and are even considered suitable for showing on international film streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Like many other things besides the jollof war, Ghana’s Ghallywood is expected to be second with 600 movies produced annually by 2021. The West African country earns about 1 million USD in box office revenue annually.
Ghana and Nigeria have many collaborations producing amazing films, telling authentic African stories in an authentic way. Ghanaian films have also experienced a similar increase in production quality.
However, the history of the Ghanaian film industry is rather complicated. The industry started as the Gold Coast Film Unit and was used as a tool to control the narrative for the British during the colonial era. During this time, Ghana was said to be the most sophisticated film maker in Africa.
In recent times, film producers have sought to produce independent Ghanaian content with funding from individual purses.
The two East Africans share the third place for the largest film industry in Africa, with approximately 500 film productions per year by 2021. However, Kenya has a greater box office revenue of the two 4.9 million USD for Kenya and only 0.7 million USD in Tanzania, according to 2018 data.
Kenya’s box office revenue is expected to grow to 6.4 million USD by 2023, while Tanzania’s will only grow to 0.8 million USD.
Because of the country’s beautiful landscape and abundant wildlife, Kenya is the location of choice for shooting many international documentaries. Locals also often produce films documenting the poverty experienced by people in major cities, but this changed in the 2000s as Kenyan filmmakers began producing more films based on pop culture. The Kenyan film industry was also a propaganda tool for the British during colonialism.
The Tanzanian film industry is mostly run by the government with films used for instructional or educational purposes. Many nature documentaries are also shot in Tanzania.
The modern Tanzanian film industry usually produces low-budget films with short schedules called ‘Bongo films’
Swahiliwood scored a major victory this year as the first Tanzanian film, titled ‘Binti’, entered Netflix. The award-winning film has opened the door for more quality Swahiliwood productions to be shown on mega streaming platforms.
Uganda has one of the fastest growing film industries in Africa and the fifth largest film industry by annual production volume. The 2005 film ‘Feelings Struggle’ is often credited as the first Ugawood film.
The Ugandan film industry is somewhat unconventional, with Video Jokers an essential part of the cinema experience. This video joker translates the movie dialogues shown in the video room and adds funny comments.
Many of Ugawood’s films are low-cost productions made with DIY equipment, while some are funded by NGOs through cultural grants. Movies with impressive production quality are also emerging these days.
Ugawood has a knack for telling haunting African stories, with titles like ‘The Girl With the Yellow Jumper’ and the critically acclaimed ‘Queen of Katwe’ – although the latter is an American production based in Uganda and used mainly in Uganda. . Uganda’s film industry is still a long way off compared to its East African neighbours, but it is set to become a powerhouse on the continent.
Africa’s most popular country is consistently the fastest growing industry with great stories and productions.
With more support from Africans both inside and outside the continent, Africa’s local film industry can see impressive growth in the coming years.