#1 of 4 ranked Best-rated Afrikaans movie
2001 Documentary 1h 34m Afrikaans
85 Metascore $50.7K worldwide
Directed by Frances Reid
About Long Night's Journey Into Day Language · Sub-Saharan Africa
Afrikaans Movies: New Releases, Best-Rated Films & Box Office
101 Afrikaans-language films are on What’s After the Movie, 65 of them (64%) from the 2010s. Drama leads with 47, then comedy (26) and romance (21). The best-rated is Long Night's Journey Into Day (2001) with a Metascore of 85; the newest release is Semi-Soeter, out Jun 20, 2025. 41 films have reported box office, $13.2M worldwide in all.
- Afrikaans films on the site
- 101
- ranked by rating
- 4
- worldwide gross of 41 films
- $13.2M
- busiest decade (65 films)
- 2010s
#1 of 4 ranked New releases
What Are the Newest Afrikaans Movies?
The 6 most recent Afrikaans-language releases, newest first: Semi-Soeter came out on Jun 20, 2025. The full list below has all 100 released Afrikaans films, newest first.
Best-rated
What Are the Best Afrikaans Movies?
Long Night's Journey Into Day (2001) ranks first of the 4 ranked Afrikaans films, ahead of Number 37 (2018) and The Harvesters (2019). Ranked by Echo Score; 2 of these 4 films have none (released before 2017, when Echo Scores start) and are ranked by a blend of their Metascore and IMDb/Letterboxd user ratings.
- 1. Long Night's Journey Into Day 85 Metascore (Metascore 85 out of 100 (4 critic reviews))
2001 · Documentary · 1h 34m
Dir. Frances Reid No Echo Score: ranked 85/100 on critics & audiences
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4. Cape of Good Hope 59 Metascore (Metascore 59 out of 100 (16 critic reviews))2005 · Drama, Comedy · 1h 47m
Dir. Mark Bamford No Echo Score: ranked 59/100 on critics & audiences
Genres
What Kinds of Afrikaans Movies Are There?
Drama is part of 47% of Afrikaans films (47); comedy (26) and romance (21) follow. Compared with the whole catalogue, Afrikaans films lean most towards romance: 21% of them, against 11% of all films. Films can have several genres. Each bar opens the full list filtered to that genre, with its best-rated film underneath.
- Drama 47 · 47%Best-rated: The Harvesters (2019)
- Comedy 26 · 26%Best-rated: Cape of Good Hope (2005)
- Romance 21 · 21%
- Crime 8 · 8%
- Adventure 5 · 5%
- Documentary 5 · 5%Best-rated: Long Night's Journey Into Day (2001)
- Thriller 5 · 5%Best-rated: Number 37 (2018)
- Action 4 · 4%
- History 4 · 4%
- Horror 4 · 4%
Smaller genres: Mystery (3), Family (2), Sci-Fi (2), War (2), Animation (1), Biography (1), Fantasy (1), Music (1), Western (1).
Decade by decade
Afrikaans Cinema, Decade by Decade
The 2010s are the busiest decade with 65 films (64%); the earliest Afrikaans film on the site is from 1970. The best-rated of the 2000s and 2010s: Long Night's Journey Into Day (2001) and Number 37 (2018). No Afrikaans film from before the 2000s is ranked.
- 4 Afrikaans films from the 1980s 1980sNo ranked film
- 5 Afrikaans films from the 1990s 1990sNo ranked film
- 8 Afrikaans films from the 2000s 2000s Long Night's Journey Into Day 85 Metascore
- 65 Afrikaans films from the 2010s 2010s Number 37 85 Echo
- 17 Afrikaans films from the 2020s 2020sNo ranked film
Box office
Which Afrikaans Movies Earned the Most?
Liefling (2010) leads with $1.9M worldwide. The top 5 together took $5.4M, 41% of the $13.2M earned by the 41 Afrikaans films with reported box office. Grosses that look like data errors, and films stored with the wrong language, are left out.
- worldwide gross, all Afrikaans films
- $13.2M
- films with reported box office
- 41
- share of the top 5
- 41%
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1. Liefling $1.9M worldwide2010 · Drama
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2. Semi-Soet $1.1M worldwide2012 · Romance
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3. Platteland $1.1M worldwide2011
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4. White Wedding $629.2K worldwide2010 · Comedy
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5. As Jy Sing $591K worldwide2013 · Comedy
People
Who Are the Top Afrikaans Directors and Actors?
Corne van Rooyen has directed the most notable Afrikaans films (4), ahead of Sean Else (2) and Andre Odendaal (2). Leandie du Randt, Deon Lotz, Drikus Volschenk and 1 more share the lead in the cast lists with 5 Afrikaans films each, ahead of Elize Cawood (4) and Dirk Stoltz (4). Counted over notable features: films with ratings, box office, awards or a plot summary on the site.
Directors with the most Afrikaans films
- Corne van Rooyen 4 filmsBest-rated: Hollywood in my House (2015)
- Sean Else 2 filmsBest-rated: Platteland (2011)
- Andre Odendaal 2 filmsBest-rated: As Jy Sing (2013)
- Brett Michael Innes 2 filmsBest-rated: Fiela’s Child (2019)
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Oliver Hermanus 2 filmsBest-rated: Beauty (2011)
Most-cast actors in Afrikaans films
- Leandie du Randt 5 filmsBest-rated: Semi-Soet (2012)
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Deon Lotz 5 filmsBest-rated: Number 37 (2018) - Drikus Volschenk 5 filmsBest-rated: Fiela’s Child (2019)
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Brendon Daniels 5 filmsBest-rated: Thys & Trix (2018) - Elize Cawood 4 filmsBest-rated: Liefling (2010)
- Dirk Stoltz 4 filmsBest-rated: Platteland (2011)
Explained
Afrikaans Movies Explained: Plot Summaries & Endings
12 Afrikaans films have a full plot summary on the site and 2 have the ending explained. The newest are Fiela’s Child (2019) and Flatland (2019).
Full list
Browse All 101 Afrikaans Movies
Filter all 101 Afrikaans films by genre, decade or year and sort them by rating, box office, release date or title. The list starts with the 100 released Afrikaans films, newest first.
100 released Afrikaans films
Afrikaans movies, newest first. Page 1 of 3.
Related languages
Movies in Other Languages From Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa has 25 languages on the site. Besides Afrikaans, the biggest are Swahili (29 films), Wolof (28 films) and Zulu (21 films).
FAQ
Afrikaans Movies: Questions & Answers
Answers from the 101 Afrikaans films on the site: their ranking, box office and directors.
How many Afrikaans movies are there?
101 Afrikaans-language films are on What’s After the Movie, released from 1970 to 2025. 4 are ranked by rating and 41 have reported box office.
Browse all Afrikaans movies What is the best Afrikaans movie?
Long Night's Journey Into Day (2001) ranks highest (No Echo Score: ranked 85/100 on critics & audiences), followed by Number 37 (2018) and The Harvesters (2019). Ranked by Echo Score; 1 of these 3 films has none (released before 2017, when Echo Scores start) and is ranked by a blend of its Metascore and IMDb/Letterboxd user ratings.
About Long Night's Journey Into Day What is the highest-grossing Afrikaans movie?
Liefling (2010), with $1.9M worldwide, ahead of Semi-Soet (2012) at $1.1M.
Afrikaans box office charts Which decade had the most Afrikaans films?
The 2010s, with 65 films (64% of all Afrikaans films on the site). Its best-rated film is Number 37 (2018).
Who has directed the most Afrikaans films?
Corne van Rooyen has directed the most notable Afrikaans films (4), ahead of Sean Else (2) and Andre Odendaal (2). Corne van Rooyen's best-rated is Hollywood in my House (2015).
Corne van Rooyen's films What are the newest Afrikaans movies?
Semi-Soeter (released Jun 20, 2025), Vultures (released May 23, 2025) and Umjolo: My Beginnings, My End! (released Jan 3, 2025).
New Afrikaans releases