Filmmaker Niyi Akinmolayan Decides to Exit Children’s Entertainment After Counting Over ₦300 Million Loss

Prominent Nollywood filmmaker and founder of Anthill Studios, Niyi Akinmolayan, has revealed his intention to step back from producing children’s content, citing cumulative financial losses exceeding ₦300 million across various kid-focused ventures.

The filmmaker disclosed this in a statement shared on his official social media handle. Reflecting on his journey in the segment, Akinmolayan noted that despite extensive investments across multiple formats, the financial returns have remained unsustainable.

According to the post, Niyi Akinmolayan calculated his total financial outlay and losses across his children’s media projects, which spanned animation, live-action hybrids, and theatrical productions. He stated that creating sellable children’s content in the region has proven exceptionally difficult to monetize or sustain through traditional models like corporate sponsorships.

"I have lost so much money doing children related stuff sha. I did a calculation today and it’s over 300m. I think that phase is over," Akinmolayan stated.

Elaborating further in the post’s caption, the director expressed frustration over the systemic and cultural barriers facing local children's media development in Nigeria and across the African continent. He highlighted a lack of interest from government bodies and corporate sponsors, while noting that audience consumption habits remain heavily tilted toward established foreign media franchises.

"From animation to live action hybrids to theatre. Creating sellable children content is just so hard to crack… completely impossible to build with sponsorships. I think it’s something in the culture. Africans don’t seem to care what their children consume. The Government is completely uninterested. Hopefully new people will find a way around it," he added.

Niyi has been one of the few high-profile champions of kid-centered projects in Nollywood. Through Anthill Studios, he previously helmed ambitious ventures including the 2023 live-action/CGI feature film Mikolo, as well as animated projects such as Temi and the LabaLaba Band.