Kunle Afolayan reveals why Nollywood filmmakers are rushing to YouTube, says it's the dollar

• Kunle Afolayan says the naira's exchange rate is making YouTube more attractive to filmmakers.

• He argued that YouTube cannot offer the same opportunities as Netflix and Prime Video.

• Afolayan also revealed the difficult conditions actors faced while filming Aníkúlápó.

Filmmaker Kunle Afolayan has said the growing number of Nigerian filmmakers turning to YouTube has little to do with creative freedom and everything to do with the naira's exchange rate against the dollar.

Speaking on the Builders Podcast, owned by Nidacity, Afolayan was asked whether YouTube represents the way forward for Nollywood actors and filmmakers increasingly choosing the platform over cinema or streaming deals.

"YouTube can never give you what Netflix and Prime will give you. But it's the most flexible, it's for everyone. It's like a starting point. If you don't have the strength to negotiate, if you don't have access to the big players, then make your film, open an account and put it there. If people watch it, you make your money," he said.

He then pointed directly to currency as the real driver behind the platform's appeal. "The reason why people now would say, 'Oh, I hit 1 million views, I get $10,000,' is because of the exchange rate. If dollar drops, what happens? Everyone will run away from YouTube," he said.

Breaking down the math further, and considering that at the current rate of roughly ₦1,400 to $1, a single video hitting one million views can earn a filmmaker close to $10,000. He warned that the appeal disappears entirely if the naira strengthens. "If dollar comes to say 200 Naira to $1, people will leave YouTube," he said.

Afolayan's comments add to an ongoing conversation about the shifting economics of Nollywood, and come months after he publicly clashed with fellow filmmakers Toyin Abraham and Funke Akindele over cinema earnings, saying he wasn't interested in chasing ₦1 billion or ₦2 billion box office numbers if he couldn't personally profit from them.

During the same Builders Podcast conversation, Afolayan also opened up about the difficult conditions his cast endured while shooting Aníkúlápó, his 2022 Netflix epic. He said the production had no proper accommodation on set, forcing cast members to squat in local homes.

"When we shot Aníkúlápó, we didn't have accommodation. We were squatting in people's houses. Sola Sobowale and Bimbo Ademoye even brought their mattresses and freezers from home," he said, adding that the experience pushed him to build 100 rooms in his film village to prevent a repeat for future productions.

READ NEXT: "I was acting before Nollywood existed" — Pete Edochie recounts his journey in film