Veteran Nollywood actor Jide Kosoko has revealed that he is facing a debt burden after his film, Eleko: Oba Esugbayi, failed to generate enough income to cover its production costs.
The filmmaker made this known during an interview with African A-List, where he explained that the movie required more than ₦300 million to produce.
Kosoko clarified that he did not personally have the funds used to make the movie. According to him, the money came from investors who put their resources into the project with the expectation of making returns.
“My film ‘Eleko: Oba Esugbayi’ that recently came out and we took to the cinemas, cost us over N300 million. Do I have 300 million? You should know that some people gave it to me and it was not that they dashed me, they invested in it and we took the film to the cinemas,” he said.
The actor said the cinema run did not produce the expected financial outcome, as the revenue generated fell short of the production expenses.
He explained that the amount eventually made from the movie was distributed among the parties involved, leaving him with outstanding financial obligations.
“Different things happened and we did not earn our money back. The little that was earned was split. As I am, if you hear someone with debt dancing around their neck, it is me,” Kosoko said.
His comments come shortly after actor Ramsey Nouah highlighted the financial challenges associated with cinema releases in the Nigerian film industry.
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Nouah had said that putting a movie in cinemas does not necessarily mean the producers will recover their investment, noting that only a small number of films manage to recoup their production costs and make profits.
He also noted that substantial spending on publicity and advertising can further increase the financial pressure on filmmakers, with some still unable to recover their capital after a cinema run.