How Nollywood pioneers are cashing in on decades-old IP

More than three decades after he produced Agbara Nla, Nigerian filmmaker Mike Bamiloye is taking the Christian classic to cinemas for the first time: a rare example of how holding onto intellectual property can transform a low-budget film into a long-term commercial asset.

Over the years, remakes of classic films have received mixed reviews, with some gaining critical acclaim and box office success. The overall top Nollywood remake is widely considered to be Living in Bondage: Breaking Free (2019). Directed by Ramsey Nouah, this critically acclaimed sequel/reboot brilliantly modernised the 1992 occult classic while setting a new gold standard for Nigerian cinematic production value and box office success, grossing over N168 million.

Other examples of modern remakes include Rattlesnake: The Ahanna Story (2020, Domitilla: The Reboot (2023), which exited cinemas with a total gross of N127.89 million at the Nigerian box office, and Nneka the Pretty Serpent (2020), which grossed approximately N50.05 million, among others.

Just like Agbara Nla, the intellectual property (IP) and production rights for Domitilla: The Reboot belong to veteran filmmaker Zeb Ejiro, who produced the original 1996 classic and partnered with FilmOne Entertainment and Film Trybe Media for the 2023 reboot.

A similar dynamic governs the legendary 1992 classic, Living in Bondage. The original IP rights belong to pioneer filmmaker and businessman Kenneth Nnebue. In 2015, Charles Okpaleke secured a ten-year lease on these rights, paving the way for Play Network Studios to produce the acclaimed sequel Living in Bondage: Breaking Free alongside Natives Filmworks and Michelangelo Productions. With that decade-long window closing, the foundational IP reverts entirely to Nnebue.

Under Okpaleke’s leadership, Play Network Studios has pursued iconic Nollywood catalogs, securing the rights to several cultural touchstones such as Rattlesnake and its adaptation Rattlesnake: The Ahanna Story (in conjunction with the estate and legacy of the original creator, the late Amaka Igwe), Nneka the Pretty Serpent, Glamour Girls, and Aki and Paw Paw, whose original IP and rights were created by the late Nigerian filmmaker and producer Chukwuka Emelionwu (also known as Kasvid).

Omotayo Queen Inakoju, a film lawyer, pointed to this case in a LinkedIn post about intellectual property. She noted that Bamiloye kept ownership of the rights instead of selling them early. This allowed the family and Mount Zion to control remakes, sequels, adaptations, and new deals.

Afolabi Araromi, an entertainment lawyer, defines intellectual property (IP) as a store of value that offers various forms of leverage, exploitation, and asset protection. He warns that those who choose to sell their IP forfeit future benefits. He explains that, in the film industry, copyright protects the story and manuscript and is registered with the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC). Conversely, he describes trademarks as protections for characters, as well as original elements such as costume design and musical scores.

Keeping ownership means the original creators can license the remake and earn fees. They can choose partners and set terms for profit sharing. They keep credit as the source of the work. New viewers can find the old series, which may increase interest, and the family or single owner continues to benefit over time.

According to Inakoju, if Bamiloye had sold the IP years ago, every new version would have required the buyer’s approval. That often involves extra costs and loss of control. She also said that retaining rights turns the film into a long-term asset rather than a one-time project.

Araromi adds that under the new Copyright Act, film copyright lasts for 50 years. After this period, other filmmakers may utilise the work in different contexts, provided they credit the original creator. Regarding Bamiloye, Araromi notes that having held his rights for over 30 years, he has less than 30 years of protection remaining before the work becomes available for use by others.

This approach has clear advantages for creators of classic works. First, it provides ongoing income streams. A film from the 1990s can still generate value decades later through re-releases, remakes, or new formats. It protects the vision of the original story, and the team decides how the story develops and who joins the project. It also builds a legacy. The Bamiloye family shows how one production can support ministry and business work across generations.

Ownership allows timing, which allows creators to wait for better market conditions, such as cinema distribution or partnerships with larger companies. Araromi pointed out that Bamiloye is planning to release the movie now because he feels like this is the best time to leverage the existing technology and distribution and exhibition networks that weren’t available in the 90s to reach a newer and wider audience.

In the 1990s, films like Agbara Nla reached audiences mainly through television and VHS. Today, cinemas and modern streaming platforms offer a wider reach. It also encourages careful management of the brand. The story stays connected to its roots while adapting to new times.

Questions include how long the work may stay valuable and how much control they want to keep. For independent creators, especially in faith-based or niche genres, owning rights can mean the difference between a single release and a sustainable asset.

For most of these remakes, the story remains the same, with just technological advancement in the filming and post-production stages. Agbara Nla is poised to keep the story, which focuses on spiritual themes from the original, as seen in the teaser trailer released in June.

History of Agbara Nla

As Bamiloye narrated on his X handle, the original Agbara Nla, also known as Ultimate Power in its English version, is a Christian film series that he wrote and produced. Work on it started in 1987 at a drama festival organised by Mount Zion Faith Ministries in Ibadan. Bamiloye gathered drama leaders from churches and campuses to make Nigeria’s first Christian movie. The title at that time was Agbara to Ju Agbara Lo.

Filming took place at locations including Apete Village. Many people from church drama groups and universities took part. After the shooting ended, the cameraman disappeared with the tapes. Efforts to find him failed, and the project stopped.