Mo Abudu Unveils EbonyLife Place London, UK’s First Cinema for African and Black Films

Nigerian media mogul Mo Abudu has announced that EbonyLife Place London will open in October 2026 as the United Kingdom’s first cinema dedicated exclusively to African and Black films.

She shared the announcement on August 10, alongside footage documenting the transformation of the Wandsworth Road property she acquired in March 2025.

ValidViewNetwork gathered that the venue will house a Grand Reception, the Afrobeat Restaurant, Fèhintì Lounge, Maji Concession and Bar, Zuri Retail, and the Living Wall Gallery, positioning it as a full cultural hub rather than a standalone cinema, with the 180-seat Amani Auditorium as its centrepiece.

A market Nollywood has already proven it can win

The timing is notable. Nollywood now produces around 2,500 films a year, making it the second-largest film industry in the world by volume, and Nigeria’s film and music sector together contributed close to ₦1.97 trillion to GDP as of 2023, a 27.5 per cent jump over three years.

ADVERTISEMENT

What has been missing, until now, is permanent physical infrastructure abroad to match that output, and the gap has been most visible in London, home to one of the largest African and Caribbean diaspora populations outside the continent.

The UK government has linked the project to its investment and creative ties with Nigeria, noting it could create around 40 jobs, and has backed it under the UK-African Investment Summit framework, where Abudu was named the UK’s Creatives Champion in 2024.

Having founded EbonyLife Group in 2013 and built one of Africa’s most recognised entertainment brands since, Abudu’s London expansion signals a new phase for Nollywood’s global ambitions: not just streaming deals and festival slots, but permanent real estate in the cities its diaspora audiences already call home.