Nollywood internationalism: Filmic entanglements on Nigerian terrain.

This article examines the complex historical and contemporary entanglement between Nollywood, Nigeria’s film industry, and Hollywood, highlighting how Nollywood’s global diffusion today relies both on American corporations like Netflix and Amazon and on Afro-diasporic grassroots practices. It traces Hollywood’s longstanding cultural and economic influence in Nigeria—from postcolonial media imperialism and technological interventions such as Cinestar International’s multilingual film system to the structural adjustment era that facilitated Nollywood’s emergence as a straight-to-video industry amid declining cinemas. The article also explores the rise of vertically integrated Nigerian multiplex chains like FilmHouse and Silverbird, which collaborate with Hollywood studios and shape local film production, distribution, and exhibition, often privileging commercially viable comedies and Hollywood-style aesthetics. Ultimately, it argues against viewing Nollywood and Hollywood as binary opposites, instead emphasizing their persistent, multidirectional interactions that produce hybrid cinematic forms and contested images of Africa.