Funke Akindele targets N5bn with new movie, defends marketing style

Nollywood actress and filmmaker, Funke Akindele, has set her sights on N5bn in box-office revenue from her forthcoming movie, ‘The Four: No One Fights Alone,’ while defending her aggressive marketing strategy against criticism.

Akindele disclosed this on Friday during a fireside chat with media entrepreneur, Chude Jideonwo, at the Creative Africa Nexus Weekend in Lagos.

When Jideonwo suggested a N5bn box-office target for the new film, Akindele responded,
“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, scheduled for release in Nigerian cinemas on December 11, will have its international premiere in London on November 29.

Akindele confirmed that tickets for the London premiere had sold out, describing the decision to stage the event abroad as part of efforts to expand her international audience.

“We just wanted to do it differently. This time around, let’s go global,” she said.

The film features an ensemble cast, including Bisola Aiyeola, Chioma Akpotha, Waje, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Timini Egbuson, Lateef Adedimeji and Ali Nuhu.

The N5bn ambition follows a series of commercially successful productions by Akindele, whose films have repeatedly broken Nigerian cinema records.

Her 2025 production, ‘Behind The Scenes,’ reportedly grossed approximately N2.76bn, surpassing ‘Everybody Loves Jenifa,’ which generated about N1.88bn in 2024.

Earlier, ‘A Tribe Called Judah’ earned approximately N1.41bn in 2023, while ‘Battle on Buka Street’ and ‘Omo Ghetto: The Saga’ recorded about N668.42m and N636.12m, respectively.

Together, the five films generated approximately N7.36bn in reported cinema ticket sales.

Achieving N5bn with The Four would represent an increase of about 81 per cent over the reported earnings of Behind The Scenes, setting a new benchmark for Nigerian cinema.

Speaking on her promotional strategy, Akindele maintained that effective marketing was essential to commercial success, stressing that filmmakers must actively engage audiences rather than depend solely on their reputations.

“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 publicity campaigns targeted different audience groups through social media, traditional advertising, comedy skits and other promotional content.

Addressing criticism of her frequent dancing and social media appearances while promoting movies, Akindele accused some critics of attempting to diminish the work behind her productions.

“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 approach was not driven by rivalry with other filmmakers, adding that the industry had sufficient opportunities for different producers to succeed.

“It’s not competition. No, please. We can all do it right. I respect a lot of filmmakers out there,” she stated.

Akindele also revealed that promoting her previous films had taken a physical and emotional toll, recalling how an influencer rejected a proposed collaboration despite her willingness to pay.

She said exhaustion during another promotional production caused her to forget her lines repeatedly, forcing her to suspend filming.

Meanwhile, the filmmaker announced plans to expand her company’s digital operations in 2027 through new films, reality shows and partnerships with emerging 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 added that she was exploring collaborations with filmmakers across Africa, including Kenya, Egypt and Algeria, as part of efforts to expand the international reach of Nigerian storytelling.