Biodun Stephen tells Nollywood to stop announcing box office money

Nollywood filmmaker Biodun Stephen wants her colleagues to stop announcing how much their movies make at the box office. On the YouTube show Paul & Baaj: In Character, in a clip posted on Wednesday, 7 October 2026, she called the announcements “a distraction”.

“I think that we really should do away with the announcements,” she said. Her worry is the filmmakers watching: she said the figures push them to treat box-office money as the only proof that they have made it.

The clip went round again this week, after Vanguard and Legit.ng reported it on Thursday and Friday. On Friday, 23 October, Pulse Nigeria also reported veteran actor Jide Kosoko saying his debut cinema production, which he put at more than ₦300 million, had left him in debt. Two stories, one question: who are the big numbers for?

What did Biodun Stephen say about box-office announcements?

Biodun Stephen said publicising cinema takings puts pressure on other filmmakers and makes earnings look like the measure of success. She compared it to a trader whose slippers sell well: others then rush into slippers without knowing why the first trader’s stall worked.

She said wanting more was not wrong, but every filmmaker should know what success means on their own road. She was also blunt about chasing awards and fame abroad. “Have you even conquered Nigeria that you can stand and say that if I go to Kano they know me as an actor?” she asked.

What do Nollywood’s box-office numbers say?

The loud numbers belong to a handful of films. Funke Akindele’s Behind the Scenes passed ₦1 billion in late December 2025 and ₦2 billion by mid-January 2026, according to reports carried by allAfrica. Mike Bamiloye’s Agbara Nla: The Return made ₦170.6 million in its first four days from 2 October, according to FilmX data reported by Nairametrics, and had reached ₦354.5 million by 20 October, its distributor Nile Entertainment said.

The quiet numbers look very different. Kosoko told the African A-List interview show, in an episode posted on 17 October, that Eleko: Oba Esugbayi “cost us over N300 million” and that the investors’ money did not come back, Pulse reported. He had said on Instagram after its March release that it took about ₦18.3 million in its opening weekend. That is roughly 6% of the budget he gave. Pulse also noted that, weeks earlier, Ramsey Nouah had warned that a cinema release does not always make financial sense.

Who is Biodun Stephen?

Biodun Stephen is a Nigerian director, writer and producer best known for romantic dramas named after their lead characters, such as Tiwa’s Baggage, Ovy’s Voice and Ehi’s Bitters. Her first film, The Visit (2014), earned two nominations at the 2016 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards, and Picture Perfect won two prizes at the 2017 Best of Nollywood Awards.

When GistMatrix checked the clip at about 2:45pm WAT on Friday, 23 October, the eight-minute video on the show’s official channel had fewer than 200 views, 16 days after it went up. Most people are meeting her argument for the first time this week, in the middle of a run of Nollywood stories about money.

What happens next

As of 2:50pm WAT on Friday, 23 October, no filmmaker had answered Biodun Stephen publicly, and Pulse said neither Kosoko nor Eleko‘s distributor, Genesis Pictures, had commented further. The next Nigerian weekend box-office figures, for 23 to 25 October, are usually published early the following week.

FAQ

What did Biodun Stephen say about the box office?
She said Nollywood filmmakers should stop announcing their cinema earnings, because the figures distract and pressure others into treating money as the only measure of success.

Where did Biodun Stephen say it?
On the YouTube show Paul & Baaj: In Character, in a clip posted on 7 October 2026.

How much did Jide Kosoko’s Eleko cost?
Kosoko said Eleko: Oba Esugbayi cost more than ₦300 million, raised from investors, and did not recover its costs.

Should Nollywood keep announcing its box-office numbers? Tell us in the comments.

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