Nollywood star, Funke Akindele, is aiming for N5bn in box-office earnings from her upcoming movie, ‘The Four: No One Fights Alone.’ She also defended her bold marketing approach against criticism.
Akindele shared her target on Friday during a chat with media entrepreneur, Chude Jideonwo, at the Creative Africa Nexus Weekend in Lagos.
When Jideonwo mentioned the N5bn box-office target, Akindele replied,
“I love it. Just N5bn, period. Let’s just start with that. When we get there, we’ll see whether we can keep moving forward.”
The movie will hit Nigerian cinemas on December 11 and will premiere internationally in London on November 29.
Akindele noted that tickets for the London premiere are already sold out. She said staging the event abroad is part of her plan to reach a wider audience.
“We just wanted to do it differently. This time around, let’s go global,” she said.
The film has a strong cast that includes Bisola Aiyeola, Chioma Akpotha, Waje, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Timini Egbuson, Lateef Adedimeji, and Ali Nuhu.
Her N5bn target follows several successful films. Akindele's movies have often broken records in Nigerian cinema.
Her 2025 film, ‘Behind The Scenes,’ made about N2.76bn, beating ‘Everybody Loves Jenifa,’ which made around N1.88bn in 2024.
Earlier, ‘A Tribe Called Judah’ earned about N1.41bn in 2023, while ‘Battle on Buka Street’ and ‘Omo Ghetto: The Saga’ brought in about N668.42m and N636.12m, respectively.
In total, these five films earned around N7.36bn at the box office.
Hitting N5bn with The Four would mean an increase of about 81 percent over the earnings of Behind The Scenes, setting a new record for Nigerian cinema.
On her marketing strategy, Akindele said good marketing is key to success. She believes filmmakers should connect with audiences instead of just relying on their names.
“Marketing, for me, is everything. PR is everything.
“Marketing, for me, is intentionality. I have to be intentional about it. What are the plans? What would the audience want to see? You know, the fans out there, what would they like to watch? They are hungry for content,” she said.
She explained that her promotional campaigns reach different audience groups through social media, traditional ads, comedy skits, and other content.
When asked about criticism of her social media dancing while promoting films, Akindele said some critics are trying to downplay her hard work.
“Because they were trying to belittle my work.
“If I dance and I sell my market and you feel you want to also adapt it, go ahead and do. There’s nothing bad. I always say there’s nothing I copy. We are inspired by people,” she said.
She insisted that her style is not about competing with other filmmakers. She believes there is enough space for everyone in the industry.
“It’s not competition. No, please. We can all do it right. I respect a lot of filmmakers out there,” she stated.
Akindele also shared that promoting her previous films has been tiring and emotional. She recalled how an influencer turned down a collaboration proposal, even though she was willing to pay.
She mentioned that during another promotional shoot, she was so exhausted that she forgot her lines, which led to a pause in filming.
Looking ahead, the filmmaker plans to grow her company’s digital presence in 2027 with new films, reality shows, and partnerships with up-and-coming creatives.
“We’re partnering with a lot of young filmmakers. We need young directors. Our YouTube channel will be buzzing from 2027. You’re going to love different films, content, reality shows,” she said.
Akindele also plans to work with filmmakers across Africa, including those in Kenya, Egypt, and Algeria, to expand the reach of Nigerian stories.
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