Agbolade Omowole: Can AI Write the Next Nollywood Blockbuster Script?

With over 2,500 films produced each year, Nollywood has become a global phenomenon, rooted in authentic African storytelling. The genre is characterised by its use of Pidgin punchlines, family conflicts and morals wrapped in melodrama. These elements are evident in films like The Wedding Party and King of Boys, which exemplify the blend of cultural richness with universal appeal. Movies like Funke Akindele‘s Everybody Loves Jenifa demonstrate what makes a Nollywood blockbuster: heart, hustle and a connection that prompts audiences to laugh, cry, and exclaim “Na so!” at the screen. Can AI replicate that magic?

Imagine asking ChatGPT to script these movies. Can it capture the real Pidgin banter, the kind of proverb an elder like Pete Edochie would use to scatter the whole place, or just that electric Owambe vibe we all know? Can AI write the next blockbuster like Funke Akindele’s billion-grossing Everybody Loves Jenifa?

I decided to test this for myself with a simple prompt to see if it could generate a typical Nollywood scene. I realised that ChatGPT and other similar large language models, like Google Gemini and DeepSeek, are adept at processing data. By feeding them various Nollywood scripts, can they generate plot ideas effectively?

I prompted ChatGPT to: “Write a scene where a Nigerian mother confronts her teenage son about sneaking out at night, using pidgin, a proverb and family dynamics.”

Here’s the result: 

The room is dimly lit. A wall clock ticks past 1:00 a.m. MAMA IFEOMA, a strong, no-nonsense Nigerian woman in her late 40s, sits on a worn armchair in her wrapper and scarf. Her face is stern. The door creaks open slowly as IFEANYI, her 17-year-old son, tiptoes in, thinking he’s safe.

Mama Ifeoma:

(sternly, not looking at him)

Ify, you fit explain wetin you dey do outside by this kain time?

Ifeanyi freezes, then tries to play it cool.

Ifeanyi:

Mama… I just go meet Tunde small. We dey gist.

Mama Ifeoma:

Gist? For 1 o’clock wey owl don begin cry? You tink say I be mumu?

Ifeanyi:

(cautiously)

I no mean am like dat…

Mama Ifeoma:

Shhh! No use that your mouth wey still dey smell baby milk talk nonsense give me. You sneak out for night, comot for my house like say you be ghost. You wan turn spirit for my front?

She stands up slowly, the wrapper swaying as she approaches him.

Mama Ifeoma:

You don forget say pikin wey say im mama no go sleep, him too no go close eye. If dem carry you for night, na me dem go ask. You wan kill me?

Ifeanyi:

(sincerely)

Mama, I swear, nothing bad happen. I no go do am again.

Mama Ifeoma:

Swear no dey repair broken head. If I no catch you today, you for still dey waka upandan. You no be small boy again, yes. But until you get your own house, you go respect the roof wey dey cover your head.

She sighs, her tone softening slightly but her eyes still burning.

Mama Ifeoma:

Your papa no dey, na me and God dey raise you. I no go watch you use yourself do practice for street.

Ifeanyi:

(quietly)

I hear you, Mama.

Mama Ifeoma:

Good. Now go inside. Tomorrow, we go talk this matter again. And better wake early—na compound sweeping go be your morning devotion.

Ifeanyi nods and slowly walks to his room. Mama Ifeoma watches him, arms folded, shaking her head.

Mama Ifeoma:

Na so wahala dey start small small. God abeg, give me strength for this boy.

She sits back in the chair, muttering prayers under her breath as the clock ticks on.

FADE OUT.

The Limits or Where AI Stumbles

The ChatGPT scene is stiff. Mama Ifeoma is stern, but there’s no tremble in her voice, no biting quip like, “You wan end like Uncle Emeka wey dey sell pure water?” Ifeanyi’s meek “I hear you, Mama” lacks the vibe of how a Nollywood teen would clap back with, “Abeg, I no be small pikin!” The proverb fits, but it’s preachy, not playful. There’s no chaos, no nosy sibling yelling, “E don cast!” or a neighbour banging the door.

The feedback from ChatGPT wasn’t bad. It is a good starting point. ChatGPT can generate some content, but it can’t replace Nollywood scriptwriters yet. Nollywood isn’t just about scripts. It’s about lived experiences that people can connect with. The humour of Lagos traffic like “Danfo drivers vs. LASTMA”, the weight of a proverb like “Monkey no fine, but im mama like am,” and the raw emotion of a mother’s plea like “You wan end like Uncle Emeka wey dey sell pure water for Mushin eeh?” These come from the streets of Lagos, schools, social gatherings and the general “Waffi Langua.”

ChatGPT can mimic pidgin, but can it write Falz’s witty comebacks or Bimbo Ademoye’s cheeky expressions? No. It lacks the “real Naija ginger”, which is the soul of Nollywood. ChatGPT can only mimic pidgin and plot arcs; it can do pattern recognition and reproduce the pattern, but it doesn’t understand what 9ice means by “street credibility.”

So, Where Can AI Help Nollywood, Yet?

If anyone wants a chance at Nollywood success, they can learn from Funke Akindele’s ELJ playbook. She transformed marketing into magic by using Instagram teasers, a festive song titled “Everybody Loves Christmas,” and a star-studded cast featuring Falz and Patience Ozokwor. This combination attracted large crowds and captured the attention of Nigerians. Her film, released on December 13, capitalised on the holiday spirit, generating ₦355 million in its first week.

Akindele built on her 16-year legacy with the Jenifa brand, blending nostalgia with new storylines and aiming high. Nollywood can take a cue from this: make films vibrant, relatable, and ambitious. This is where AI can be beneficial. You can utilise AI for marketing strategies. While tools like ChatGPT can’t write the next ELJ, they can enhance your promotional efforts.

Want to know what themes resonate with Nigerians? Ask it, “What themes attract Gen Z in Lagos?” It might suggest family drama, stories about hustling, or festive experiences. Need a tagline? You could request, “Generate 10 Pidgin hooks for a comedy about a wedding crash.” One of the suggestions might be “Love and Jollof Wahala,” which isn’t bad! It can even help plan a TikTok campaign, including daily skits, hashtags, and influencer collaborations.

Funke Akindele didn’t need AI to make ELJ a ₦1.88 billion hit; she needed grit, vision, and a love for her people. The best long-term strategy for Nollywood is to invest in developing its own Large Language Model (LLM) tailored specifically to African and Nigerian storytelling traditions. This would enable Nollywood to preserve cultural nuances, effectively utilise pidgin and local dialects, and replicate the emotional and comedic rhythms that characterise its films.

To achieve this quickly, industry stakeholders—including production houses, tech companies, and universities—can collaborate to collect thousands of scripts, subtitles, and dialogues from both classic and contemporary Nollywood films.

With support from cloud infrastructure providers and open-source AI frameworks like Meta’s LLaMA or Mistral, it would be possible to fine-tune a domain-specific LLM within a matter of months. The benefits of this approach would include culturally fluent script generation, faster pre-production cycles, automated translation and localisation, and even tools that allow young writers to co-create with AI.

By building technology that speaks like Nigerians, thinks like Nigerians, and most importantly, feels like Nigerians, Nollywood has the potential to lead Africa’s AI creative revolution instead of relying on models trained in the West.