Anikulapo Season Two has surged to the number one position on Netflix’s Nigeria chart within 24 hours of its release, signalling strong audience reception for Kunle Afolayan’s latest instalment of the fantasy drama.
The performance was referenced during Afolayan’s appearance on ARISE News on Sunday, where the filmmaker and creative industry entrepreneur responded to a question from the anchor on whether Netflix had fully embraced the franchise again and how the new season had fared since debuting on Friday.
Speaking on the timing of the release, Afolayan said, “It’s really exciting to have released this at the beginning of the year. You know, I mean, towards the end of January, because December was busy. I mean, everybody was busy, trying to make ends meet. And people’s attention would have been, a bit shared or taken away. But January is more subtle. I’m excited because this is like a dream come true.”
He explained that Anikulapo was first conceived as a series before Netflix advised beginning with a feature film.
According to him, “The Anikulapo project itself originally was meant to be a series, you know. But then we shopped it around and, you know, a lot of people were thinking it was a big ambition. But when Netflix took it, they said, look, we are not confident that you can make a series yet because all you’ve been doing are films. So they said, can you, like, make a film first? And then if it is okay, then you can do the series.”
He said the strategy worked after the first film gained traction globally.
Afolayan added, “And then we made the film. And the film topped number one most watched film globally, you know. And then they came back and said, oh, do you still want to do the series? And then we did a season one.”
On the expansion of the project, he noted that production has already gone beyond the newly released season.
He said, “Now we did season two. We actually shot season two and season three. Back to back. Yes. And there will be a season three. And this is, like, we’ve completed post-production. Netflix decide when they want to release, you know, because they have other films. And they have how they have strategised, you know, what film comes on when, so but so far, as of yesterday, it’s top number one in Nigeria. It’s already number one most watched film after 24 hours.”
The result reflects how quickly Nigerian audiences embraced the second season, reinforcing Anikulapo’s place among Nollywood titles gaining momentum on global streaming platforms.
Ademide Adebayo
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