In a recent interview on Arise TV, Nigerian comedian and filmmaker Basketmouth accused Nollywood producers of mismanaging funds allocated by global streaming platforms. According to him, these producers are diverting substantial portions of the budgets meant for movie production for personal gain, which has negatively impacted the quality of Nigerian films. Basketmouth emphasized that this mismanagement is a significant issue within the industry that requires immediate attention.
Basketmouth, who has also ventured into filmmaking, was candid about his concerns. He claimed that despite receiving large sums of money for film production, a very small percentage of these funds actually go toward making the movies. “When the streaming platforms came in, they gave money to these producers, and I’ll tell you point blank: these producers would take the money—$1.5 million or whatever they give them—and use about 10% of that money to make the movie,” he stated. This revelation has sparked conversations within the industry about the transparency and ethics surrounding film financing.
The comedian went on to explain that the practice of misusing funds has become more pronounced since global streaming platforms began investing in Nollywood productions. In an effort to combat the fraud, streaming services reportedly decided to pay actors directly to ensure that the funds were used appropriately. However, according to Basketmouth, producers managed to circumvent this solution by coercing actors into returning part of their pay. “Even to the point where the streaming platforms stepped in and said, ‘You know what? We are going to be paying the actors directly,’ these guys would still go behind and tell the actors to pay half of that money back to them,” he added.
This practice, according to Basketmouth, has contributed to the decline in the quality of Nollywood films. He argued that the funds misappropriated by producers could have been used to improve the production value of movies, but instead, the money is often used for personal luxuries. “So, when you do that and expect your movie to be 100%, it can’t. It’s impossible. But these guys? They’ll cut, buy houses, buy cars. And that’s why when you see our movies, some of our epic movies look like stage plays,” he lamented.
