Amazon’s going to Nollywood and its deals with studios could shake up one of the world’s most prolific filmmaking hub

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In its hunt for content, Amazon Prime Video has turned to Nigeria, where it has secured key deals with studios that could shake up business in Africa’s most prolific filmmaking hub.

In recent months, the US giant has signed exclusive streaming agreements with Inkblot Productions and Anthill Studios — which say the deals will fundamentally change the way they operate.

Chinaza Onuzo, co-founder of Inkblot Productions, the studio behind domestic hits “The Wedding Party” and “Up North,” told CNN Business the company has signed a three-year licensing deal running through to 2024. The deal will see Inkblot’s upcoming releases move onto Amazon’s platform after showing in cinemas.

“This allows us to plan long-term,” Onuzo says. Instead of film-by-film commissioning, the company is looking at possible intellectual property deals and franchise potential in Inkblot’s existing titles. “It has given us the opportunity to broaden the genres that we explore (and) given us the opportunity to work with a wider mix of filmmakers and talents,” he adds.

Anthill Studios produces original features and animation, releasing titles including “Prophetess” and “Day of Destiny” (the latter a co-production with Inkblot). Its films will also appear on Prime Video after a theatrical window, in a multi-year agreement.

“We jumped at the deal,” says founder and creative director Niyi Akinmolayan. “We’ve practically doubled the size of our budgets .. we’ve become a lot more ambitious with the kind of stories we want to tell.”

Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/09/africa/amazon-prime-video-nollywood-anthill-inkblot-spc-intl/index.html