Four elements contribute to the success of a movie at the
box-office. They include good script, experienced director, professional
publicist, and most importantly, the big name stars.
In Nigeria, some movie stars have proven again and again
that they can guarantee return on investment as long as their faces adorn the
poster. They are Genevieve Nnaji, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Omoni Oboli, Funke
Akindele and Nse Ikpe-Etim. Or how else could one explain the success of box
office hits like Mirror Boy, Ije, and Tango With Me all having Genevieve Nnaji
starring in them? And what about Figurine and Anchor Baby which both starred
Omoni Oboli as the lead actress?
Here, We take a look at Nollywood’s five bankable actresses,
their earnings and what is possibly working for them.
1. Genevieve Nnaji
So far, Genevieve’s starring in the movies has grossed over
N83 million at the box office. Mirror Boy (described by the actress as her
first major film and the first to put her at the box-office) made N18 million,
while Ije netted N60 million turning out to be Nigeria’s highest grossing movie
ever. But Genevieve had to share the money with Omotola, who also acted
alongside her. If the sharing formula is 50-50, then Genevieve gets N30 million
of the total gross.
Genevieve’s next movie, Tango with Me went on to make N35
million. So, putting all the figures together, Genny remains at the head of the
pack. What seem to be working for Genevieve are her enduring power, popularity
and social media connection. The actress has been there for over a decade and
is still waxing stronger. Her wine seems to taste better with age.
Another plus for Genny is her popularity. Genevieve is
hugely popular across Africa and most especially among the youths. Before now,
she has been very active on the social media especially Twitter. She even had
to put up a Facebook advert after reports emerged that some acts were ahead of
her there.
2. Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde
Next on the list is Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde with box-office
gross of N60 million. She made N24 million with Last Flight to Abuja, N6
million from Private Storm and her N30 million share in Ije bring her total
earning to N60 million.
This year alone, no actress has made as much as N24 million
from a single movie; Funke Akindele would have done so with The Return of
Jenifa but the movie hit the box office in 2011.
Omotola, who was reported to have been paid N5 million by
Tarila Thompson all in the bid to make his movie a blockbuster, has been
described as the biggest box office actress of 2012. She recorded successes
back to back but it remains to be seen if she can pull off the box office magic
again with Amina and other movies coming in 2013.
Omotola has been an A-list actress even before Genevieve got
her first big break and so what has been working for her is the wise investment
in her brand. Her enduring presence and unceasing contact with her fans via the
social media has made her popular even in an environment where a mother of four
like her is not fashionable.
3. Funke Akindele
Surprisingly, the third person on the list is Funke
Akindele, a young lady who rose to fame in I Need To Know, a TV series, and
went on to earn a monstrous fame with Jenifa.
Funke is an unlikely candidate on this list. Now, how can
one explain that she is third on a list parading heavy weights like Omoni
Oboli, Nse Ikpe-Etim and Stephanie Okereke among others?
So far, Funke has made over N56 million, netting over N20
million in 2012 alone. In The Return of Jenifa, Funke netted N35 million. The
movie ran till February 2012. Her movie, Married but Living Single made N9.9
million while Maami made N11 million. The actress is on her way to another
cinema glory with a movie, A Wish. Let’s hope she will be able to wave the
magical wand again and create a box-office success.
For Funke who recently got married, the plus factor for her
is her huge popularity among the masses and elites. Her movie, Jenifa cuts
across all social groups with the street parlance in it becoming the mode of
communication in social gathering. And as an icing on the cake, Funke has moved
upscale, she is now the toast of events organized by the rich and not so rich.
Her box office credibility transcends the cinema as all DVDs parading her face
turn into gold.
4. Omoni Oboli
Omoni Oboli, who is still largely unknown to those who don’t
patronise the cinema and social media, is fourth on the list. She is a silent
achiever. Before the trio of Genevieve, Omotola and Funke even dreamt of
hitting the box office, Omoni Oboli already took the lead. Figurine, her first
box office appearance made N13 million while her second effort, Anchor Baby
made N18 million bringing her total earning to N31million.
Omoni’s strength is her exclusivity and knack for quality.
It is a known fact that if the project is not big and ambitious, Omoni might
not do it. The disadvantage of that is, despite her box office credibility, Omoni
is still unknown in areas where there is no access to cinemas. Perhaps, that is
the reason she tries to make up with the red carpet presence.
For now, the exclusivity is working for Omoni; perhaps her
new movie, Broken and other works will introduce a new twist. One other thing
that should not be forgotten is the unprecedented publicity of Anchor Baby in
2010. The film also had Omoni at the forefront of meeting and greeting of fans
at the cinemas.
5. Nse Ikpe-Etim
The fifth slot belongs to Nse Ikpe-Etim. She seems to be the
latest sensation in big budget movies. In Mr and Mrs, Nse was a delight, her
performance was a reference point and it was a hook that kept drawing people to
the cinema while the movie was there.
Mr and Mrs made N6 million while another of her film, Phone
Swap made N20 million, making a total of N26 million.
Too early for Nse to cement her place, as she hasn’t done
N15 million back-to-back but one thing the actress has made clear is that she
has intention of doing that. The leading four acts should be afraid of Nse
because her strength lies in her pure acting talent.
Nse is born to act, deemed to be unnecessarily assertive a
times, but you can’t accuse her of not knowing her lines. And she pushes her
movies with virgour, moving from one cinema to the other.
However, Nse should watch it as many have accused her of
being too ‘self-conscious’, a term casually used for budding stars who have
‘over-hyped’ impression of themselves as this could alienate fans who make the
box-office count.
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