January never arrives quietly in the world of film.
It slips in with ambition.

After the chaos of December releases and award season noise, January becomes a testing ground, a month where studios, streaming platforms, and filmmakers quietly place their bets. This year, the slate is unusually confident. From deeply rooted Nollywood mythology to blood soaked survival thrillers and long-awaited global franchises, January’s releases promise tension, spectacle, and conversation.

Whether you prefer cinema halls or couch side streaming, this month offers stories that travel across cultures, genres, and emotional registers.

Here’s what January is serving.

Aníkúlápó, Rise of the Spectre

Few Nigerian series in recent years have travelled as far, or as confidently, as Anikulapo. What began as a bold experiment rooted in Yoruba mythology quickly evolved into a global cultural moment. Now, the story continues.

Premiering January 30 on Netflix, Aníkúlápó, Rise of the Spectre pushes deeper into its mystical universe. The new season is expected to explore darker spiritual consequences, expanding the lore while testing the morality of its characters. The strength of Aníkúlápó has always been its refusal to dilute culture for global appeal, instead trusting that authenticity is its own passport.

Season two arrives with weight, expectations are high, and the world is watching again.

Alive Till Dawn

January 30 also marks a bold swing from Nollywood with Alive Till Dawn, a zombie survival thriller set in Abuja. Nollywood has flirted with horror before, but rarely this aggressively.

Starring Uzor Arukwe, Sunshine Rosman, and Michael Dappa, the film traps its characters in a single night of terror, where survival is measured in minutes, not hope. Zombies roam, alliances crack, and fear becomes the loudest voice in the room.

More than just gore, Alive Till Dawn signals Nollywood’s growing confidence in genre storytelling, proving local cinema can explore unfamiliar terrain without losing its identity.

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Supernowa

Opening January with a confident cinematic presence, Supernowa leans into emotional intensity and spectacle. The film explores ambition, consequence, and the quiet battles people fight when dreams collide with reality. It positions itself as a character driven story, one that favors atmosphere and performance over noise, making it a strong early year cinema entry.

Everything Is New Again

Scheduled for a January 30 cinema release, Everything Is New Again is a reflective drama that leans into healing, second chances, and emotional rebirth. The film explores how life has a way of forcing fresh starts, even when people resist them. It’s a quieter offering for audiences drawn to introspection and human centered storytelling.

January may not shout like December, but it rarely misses.

This month’s releases suggest a year willing to take risks, blur genre lines, and tell stories that linger longer than their runtime. Whether rooted in African mythology or global catastrophe, these films and series offer one thing in common, they demand attention.

If this is how the year begins, cinema is in for an interesting ride.

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