Nollywood veteran Ebun Oloyede, better known as Olaiya Igwe or Ololade Mr Money, has stirred conversation in the industry after revealing the financial reality behind blockbuster films. He disclosed that Funke Akindele’s movie Behind the Scenes crossed the billion-naira mark at the box office, but the producer received less than half of the revenue after cinemas and distributors took their share. Olaiya Igwe explains how cinema revenue cuts reduce profits from Funke Akindele’s billion-naira film success.
According to him, while the public celebrates impressive figures, the actual money that goes to the producer is far smaller because exhibitors and middlemen claim a large portion.
Olaiya Igwe also pointed to Femi Adebayo’s Jagun Jagun, saying millions were spent on the production, but no profit was made after deductions by cinemas. He emphasised that this has been a long-standing challenge, as producers continue to struggle despite record-breaking grosses.
Other filmmakers have raised similar concerns in the past. Kunle Afolayan once noted that he would rather make a modest profit of ten million naira than boast of billions in box office returns that bring little gain. Olaiya Igwe’s remarks have once again revealed the imbalance in how Nigerian cinemas divide ticket sales.
He urged Nollywood producers to consider the traditional methods used by veterans such as Hubert Ogunde, Adeyemi Afolayan Ade Love, and Adebayo Salami, insisting that filmmakers should find ways to make their efforts worthwhile instead of working for cinemas to drain them.