Nollywood actress and filmmaker Funke Akindele has explained why she continues to promote her film, Behind The Scenes, despite its massive box office success.
Akindele on Monday shared the video on Snapchat, where she responded to a message questioning her continued publicity for the film, which has grossed over ₦2.6 billion.
She said, “Someone sent a message to me, and he said, ‘Behind the scenes has grossed over 2.6 billion. Why are you still promoting it?’”
“I got relaxed, and I told the person, I said, ‘It’s not about the money. No, it’s not about the money. The most important thing is consistency.’”
“If you want to be successful, if you want to keep breaking your record, you want keep breaking new grounds. You have to be consistent with whatever you are doing. You have to be.”
“That’s what I told him. I said, listen, yes I want more money, I want more opportunities. I have to keep up with the job.”
“I have to keep promoting, I have to keep making noise so that people can get to know about it.”
“You know by the time I keep promoting, you’ll be like oh, okay, let me go and watch it.”
Her comments come weeks after Behind The Scenes made box office history by crossing the ₦2 billion mark at the Nigerian box office, becoming the first Nollywood production ever to achieve the milestone.
The feat cemented Funke Akindele’s status as Africa’s highest-grossing filmmaker and showed the growing global influence of Nigeria’s creative industry, especially among diaspora audiences who continue to champion homegrown storytelling.
The announcement was made in a post on X, where the film distributor, FilmOne Entertainment described the achievement as having “officially broken and shattered records,” noting that it was the first Nollywood film in Africa to cross the ₦2 billion box office threshold.
“Behind the Scenes has officially BROKEN and SHATTERED records, hitting over 2 BILLION at the box office and becoming the first Nollywood film in West Africa to cross the ₦2 billion mark,” the company stated.
“This is also the highest-grossing Nollywood film of all time in Africa, the UK, and Ireland, and makes Funke Akindele the first filmmaker to rank number one at the box office in Africa for three consecutive years… This is now a movement, and we love to see it. From our hearts to yours, thank you for believing in the magic of storytelling and making history with us,” FilmOne added.
Akindele herself took to X to celebrate the win, crediting the achievement to discipline and respect for the craft:
“Records are milestones, not the mission. From A Tribe Called Judah grossing ₦1B to Behind The Scenes crossing ₦2B and still counting, this is God in motion.
“And I’m most grateful to my maker and return all the glory to him. The lesson remains unchanged: serve the story, respect the audience, refine the craft, and let the work earn its applause,” she stated.
Filmmaker Funke Akindele started her career with bit-part roles.
In January 2024, A Tribe Called Judah by the actress set a new benchmark after earning more than ₦1 billion in just three weeks, becoming the first Nollywood film to reach that milestone within that timeframe.
