Dance, culture and the business of Nollywood – A monologue — by Anikeade Funke-Treasure

At the beginning of this year, I said we were popcorn-ready for what Nollywood might unveil in 2026. I did not imagine the drama would arrive so quickly, or that it would centre on a simple question: must a filmmaker dance to sell a film?

Kunle Afolayan’s declaration following the release of Anikulapo: The Ghoul Awakens, that he cannot dance to promote a movie, has continued to reverberate, generating continuous debate. He is the heavy weight who can lead such a debate.

First, we must leave ego and emotion at the door and ask harder questions about the true cost of storytelling, the most effective marketing channels for Nigerian cinema, and how success is measured and shared.

Funke Akindele’s extraordinary box-office dominance is not in dispute; this debate doesn’t threaten her legacy. Yet Kunle Afolayan’s observation about dance as a promotional strategy remains valid.

The truth is that, with Funke’s influence, dance was slowly becoming culture, one that could intimidate filmmakers who are not naturally sanguine.

Dance is demanding work. What appears like a few joyful steps, is choreography, rehearsal, and labour, layered onto the already exhausting process of filmmaking.

Still, this phenomenon is not entirely new. The Alárìnjó travelling theatre of Yoruba tradition blended dance, drama, and announcement in the village square. It was art and advertisement intertwined.

Funke picked that tradition, refined it, and rode on it to remarkable commercial success. But it cannot become the culture.

Filmmakers such as Kemi Adetiba, with King of Boys and To Kill a Monkey, and Bolanle Austen-Peters, with The Bling Lagosian, The Man of God, and House of Ga’a, remind us that memory, scale, and audience impact can emerge without choreographed promotion.

The outcome of the debate is that everyone, particularly the undiscerning populace, now understands that no one needs to dance to make them watch a movie.

We are quick to condemn dissent in culture, yet we complain that politicians are intolerant and refuse to listen. Nollywood will grow stronger when many paths to the audience remain open, and every storyteller is free to choose their own rhythm without apology.

–Funke-Treasure is a thinker, strategist, and communicator.