Jide Kosoko says he is in debt after his film ‘Eleko: Oba Esugbayi’ failed to recoup its production cost of over N300 million at the cinemas.
In a recent interview on African A-List, the ace Nigerian actor said the money used to produce the film came from investors who expected returns on their investment.
The filmmaker disclosed that the movie did not generate enough revenue to recover its production cost, and the little earned was shared among those involved.
“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.
“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’s revelation comes weeks after actor Ramsey Nouah said taking a film to the cinema is not always a sound financial decision.
Nouah said only a tiny fraction of films released in cinemas ever recoup their production costs and turn a profit.
He added that many producers fail to recover their capital even after spending heavily on advertising and promotion.
