₦2 Billion Isn’t Profit — It’s Leverage. FUNKE VS KUNLE

₦2 billion at the box office looks like profit. It isn’t. By the time cinemas, distributors, taxes, and marketing are deducted, the number collapses quickly — often leaving producers with visibility, not cash.

This isn’t about who is right. It’s about what kind of filmmaker survives which kind of economy. One chooses mass engagement to unlock downstream money. The other chooses restraint to protect artistic equity. Both are responses to a system where cinema alone rarely pays the bill.

And that’s the question that lingers: in an industry where applause doesn’t equal profit, are we still judging success by numbers that were never meant to tell the whole story?

#JaiyeWhyItMatters

ASSUMPTION (STANDARD INDUSTRY MODEL)

Cinema gross: ₦2,000,000,000

Producer: Funke Akindele

Distribution: Major Nigerian distributor

Marketing + Production: High-budget Nollywood

STEP-BY-STEP DEDUCTIONS

1️⃣ CINEMA / EXHIBITOR SHARE

Typical Nigerian cinema cut ≈ 50%

₦2,000,000,000 × 50%

= ₦1,000,000,000

Balance:

₦2,000,000,000 − ₦1,000,000,000

= ₦1,000,000,000

2️⃣ DISTRIBUTOR FEE

Typical distributor fee ≈ 25% of remaining

₦1,000,000,000 × 25%

= ₦250,000,000

Balance:

₦1,000,000,000 − ₦250,000,000

= ₦750,000,000

3️⃣ VAT / TAXES (Conservative estimate)

≈ 7.5% VAT on applicable revenue

₦750,000,000 × 7.5%

= ₦56,250,000

Balance:

₦750,000,000 − ₦56,250,000

= ₦693,750,000

4️⃣ MARKETING & PROMOTION

Heavy cinema marketing (media, skits, premieres, tours)

Estimated: ₦200,000,000

Balance:

₦693,750,000 − ₦200,000,000

= ₦493,750,000

5️⃣ PRODUCTION COST

Large-scale Funke Akindele production

Estimated: ₦1,000,000,000

This is NOT paid from gross — but from total project economics.

Net theatrical position after costs:

₦493,750,000 − ₦1,000,000,000

= −₦506,250,000 (theatrical loss)

FINAL STRAIGHT ANSWER

🎬 FROM CINEMA ALONE:

Gross: ₦2,000,000,000

Actual cash received before costs: ~₦694 million

After marketing: ~₦494 million

After production: LOSS of ~₦506 million

REALITY CHECK (IMPORTANT BUT STILL STRAIGHT)

This is why cinema alone is not the profit center.

Profit comes from:

Streaming rights (Netflix / Prime / Showmax)

TV syndication

International rights

Brand integrations

Library value

Without those → cinema numbers are headline vanity, not cash profit.

ONE-LINE TRUTH

₦2 billion box office ≠ ₦2 billion pocket.

It doesn’t even equal ₦1 billion pocket. 

✍️ 👀 ☝️👆 📎