Most searched Nigerian movies and songs in 2022

As the year draws nearer to a close, BusinessDay identifies some of the most popular searches for movies and songs on Google.

The year came with a bang and brought with it some major blockbuster films like Anikulapo, Blood Sisters, and Black Panther as well as major songs such as Buga and Overdose, providing fans with a delightful experience.

Movies

Anikulapo

The movie directed by Kunle Afolayan was set in the 17th-century ancient Oyo Kingdom and premiered on Netflix on September 30, 2022. A week after its premiere, it became the most-watched non-English film on Netflix, with a cumulative 8.7m streaming hours.

The film which stars Kunle Remi, Bimbo Ademoye, Sola Sobowale, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Taiwo Hassan, and others narrates the story of Saro (played by Kunle Remi) who has recently arrived in Oyo as a stranger and a traditional textile weaver who uses the “aso-ofi” loom and technique. Saro has an illicit romance with Queen Arolake (played by Bimbo Ademoye) who was in an unhappy marriage because she is hated by the King’s wives and is also uninterested in the king, but it is her duty to lay with him.

She falls in love with Saro as they plan to elope, but the king learns of their affair and sentences Saro to death. Based on the mythical Akala bird which wakes him from death, Saro, through the astute actions of Arolake, gains the power to resurrect the dead through a gourd stolen by Aroloke, and earns the name, Anikulapo (Aníkúlápó), which means the “one that holds death in his purse.”

As Saro becomes popular in their new village Ojumo, he sets amorous eyes on other women and betrays Arolake. His excessive pride is his hubris as he begins to make inordinate demands from the villagers before he can raise the dead. When Arolake hears that Saro has asked for the king’s daughter before he can restore life to the king’s heir, she undermines the source of his power and deserts him. Saro fails to resurrect the prince and discovers he no longer has the power to tame death.

Blood Sisters

Blood Sisters a Nigerian thriller series produced by Netflix. The series, which has been described as the first Nigerian Netflix Original series, stars Ini Dima-Okojie and Nancy Isime in the lead, with Ramsey Noah, Kate Henshaw, Wale Ojo, Kehinde Bankole, Deyemi Okanlawon, Gabriel Afolayan, Tope Tedela among other cast members.

The four-part series was released on 5 May 2022 and the release was born of the collaboration of Netflix and Mo Abudu through her media company, Ebonylife TV. Blood Sisters was directed by Biyi Bandele and Kenneth Gyang.

The movie tells the story of two best friends, Sarah (Ini Dima-Okojie) and Kemi (Nancy Isime), who became fugitives after Sarah’s husband-to-be, Kola (Deyemi Okanlawon), disappears mysteriously on their engagement day, the circumstances surrounding his disappearance became a mystery to the public until he (Kola) was declared dead few days after when his body was found in a shallow grave. This situation then made Sarah and Kemi want fugitives, as they had to leave town to escape for their lives. As everyone tries to find Kola’s killer, more secrets about Kola, his siblings, his mother, and the family feud became revealed.

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House of Dragon

House of the Dragon is an American fantasy drama television series created by George R. R. Martin and Ryan Condal for Home Box Office(HBO).

The movie series premiered on August 21, 2022, with the first season consisting of ten episodes. Five days after its premiere, the series was renewed for a second season.

The first season received highly positive reviews, with praise towards its character development, writing, score and actor performances.

The series premiere was watched by over 10 million viewers across the linear channels and HBO Max on the first day, the biggest in HBO’s history.

Based on material from George R. R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood, the movie tells the story of the Dance of Dragons and the events leading up to the brutal civil war. King Viserys I Targaryen rules over an unprecedented time of peace, but questions about his succession threaten to send the realm into chaos.

Thor: Love and Thunder

Thor: Love and Thunder is a 2022 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the character Thor. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the sequel to Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and the 29th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

The film was directed by Taika Waititi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, and stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor alongside Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Jaimie Alexander, Waititi, Russell Crowe, and Natalie Portman.

The film tells the story of Thor, who tries to find inner peace but is forced to return to action and recruit Valkyrie (Thompson), Korg (Waititi), and Jane Foster (Portman) to stop Gorr the God Butcher (Bale) from eliminating all gods.

The Woman King

The Woman King is an American historical epic film about the Agojie, the all-female warrior unit that protected the West African kingdom of Dahomey during the 17th to 19th centuries.

Set in the 1820s, the film stars Viola Davis as a general who trains the next generation of warriors to fight their enemies. It is directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and written by Dana Stevens, based on a story she wrote with Maria Bello also Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, and John Boyega.

The Woman King had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2022, and Sony Pictures Releasing released the film in theaters in the United States on September 16, 2022.

Songs

Buga – Kiss Daniel

‘Buga’ was released on May 3, 2022, became the most popular song in Nigeria and the most Shazamed song in the world, and it also reached number one on the Apple Music Charts in over ten countries.

The song’s video was directed by TG Omori, and was shot in a carnival-like setting, with various countries’ flags displayed. It has received over 29 million views since its release.

Overdose – Marvin

‘Overdose’ is a Marvin Records single that was released on May 13th, 2022, and features Crayon, Ayra Starr, Ladipoe, Magixx, and the label’s newest signee, Boy Spyce.
Following the release of the hit song, it has received over 600,000 streams on Spotify, the global music streaming platform, and has charted on Apple Music in six countries, including Nigeria.

Machala – Cater Eefe

On July 29th, 2022, Carter Efe, a Nigerian comedian and content creator, released his single “Machala.” Within two days of its release, the song reached number one on digital streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, and others.

Calm Down – Rema

“Calm Down” is a song by Nigerian singer Rema, from his debut studio album Rave & Roses (2022). It was released on 11 February 2022, through Jonzing World and Mavin as the album’s second single.

The song charted across Europe, reaching number one on the Belgian Ultratop 50, Dutch Top 40 and Dutch Single Top 100.

A remix of the song with American singer Selena Gomez was released on 25 August 2022. The new version reached number one on the Billboard US Afrobeats Songs chart and peaked at number five on the Global 200 chart.

Rush – Ayra Starr

Ayra Star , Mavin Records signed, released the anticipated single ‘Rush’ on September 19th, 2022.

Ayra’s ‘Rush’ holds the number one position on the Apple music top 100 songs charts in the following countries: Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia, Kenya, Uganda, and others countries as well.

The song has also received 2.4 million views on YouTube for both the music video and the official audio. It has also received over 2.3 million Spotify streams.