The Black Book, a Nigerian revenge action thriller about corruption, police brutality and abuse of power in Africa’s most populous country, has steadily pulled record global viewership numbers on Netflix since its release a month ago. According to the streaming giant, the film, which is drawing comparisons to Keanu Reeves blockbuster John Wick series, garnered 5.6 million views just 48 hours after its release and by its second week was featured among the top 10 titles in 69 countries.
“Films are made for audiences, and the bigger the audience for a film, the better the chances of your message going out,” producer Editi Effiong told The Associated Press. “The reality for us is that we made a film, made by Nigerians, funded by Nigerian money, go global.”
The Black Book, one of the most expensive Nigerian movies ever made, was produced on a $1 million budget, raised in part from Nigeria’s tech elite. Though that figure is small by Hollywood standards, it’s unheard of for Nigerian films, which typically cost between $25,000-$70,000 to produce, according to the International Monetary Fund. Its streaming success has given Nollywood, Nigeria’s film industry, reason to look for more mainstream support.
“Thanks to The Black Book, Nollywood filmmakers can now say, ‘Take a bet on us, support us with the right funding, and we will give you films that can compete globally on your streamer,’” Daniel Okechukwu, a Nigerian film writer, told Wired.
A Netflix spokesperson echoed this sentiment, saying in a statement that entertainment with local stories remains the core of the platform’s objective in sub-Saharan Africa: “Africa has great talent and world-class creatives, and we are committed to investing in African content and telling African stories of every kind.”
That statement highlights what is perhaps the most intriguing thing about The Black Book’s success: how it has achieved it without much promotional support, which some viewers put on blast on TikTok:
The Anti-Hero, one commenter with 2.9M likes, said, “YET: I never saw it advertised on Netflix.”
Another commenter, CAT, posted, “It was never marketed to me — why?”
thelastbiteee commented, “wow, i wish they would’ve advertised it on my netflix!”
Me, too, TikTok. Despite The Black Book being the most recent thing I’ve watched on Netflix, the film doesn’t show up in my history without a search. That’s not the case for a similarly themed movie I watched two years ago. I’m just sayin’ ….
Kendra Lee is a writer based outside Washington, D.C.