Nollywood Producers Misuse Netflix Funds, Basketmouth Alleges

Nigerian comedian and filmmaker, Basketmouth, has leveled serious accusations against Nollywood producers, alleging the mismanagement of funds allocated by global streaming platforms like Netflix. He claims this malpractice has negatively impacted the quality of Nigerian movies.

In a recent interview on Arise TV, the entertainer alleged that producers misused substantial portions of the funds meant for film production, diverting them for personal gain.

“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,” Basketmouth revealed.

According to him, the streaming platforms, upon discovering the alleged misuse of funds, began paying actors directly to ensure transparency. However, producers reportedly found ways to continue their fraudulent activities.

“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. You can verify the information anywhere,” he alleged further.

Basketmouth expressed concerns over the quality of films produced under these conditions, noting that some epic productions appear substandard as a result of the mismanagement.

“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.