With over 10 million watch hours, the historical crime thriller has become one of Netflix’s most-watched films globally.
Hijack ‘93, a film by Play Network Studios in collaboration with Native Media TV, is at the third spot on the Netflix Global Chart with 10.6 million watch hours and over 7 million views since its release on October 25, 2024.
Based on a real-life event that happened in Nigeria, the movie follows the memorable event of October 25, 1993, which saw four teenage boys hijack a Nigerian Airways plane as a medium of protest against the June 12 elections.
On the said day, four Nigerian young men, Richard Ogunderu, Kabir Adenuga, Benneth Oluwadaisi and Kenny Rasaq-Lawal, commandeered a Nigerian Airways aeroplane en route to Abuja from Lagos and forced its pilots to land in the Niger Republic. Their audacious move was an attempt to force the government to hand over power to MKO Abiola.
Building on the success of previous Play Network films such as Blood Vessel and Glamour Girls, Okpaleke first announced details of the production in 2021, adding that the production wasn’t just a tell-tale story of what had happened as they were going to include first-hand accounts of the incident.
The film boasts a lineup that includes Jemima Osunde, Idia Aisien, Ego Nwosu, John Dumelo, Yakubu Muhammed, Efa Iwara, Nancy Isime, Sharon Ooja, Sani Muazu, Adam Garba, Allison Emmanuel, Oluwaseyi Akinola and Nnamdi Agbo.