Nollywood actress and filmmaker Biodun Stephen has criticised the practice of publicly disclosing cinema box office figures.
Speaking on the Paul & Baaj: In Character podcast, Stephen called on her fellow filmmakers to stop making public the amount their movies generate at the box office.
Stephen claimed the practice puts unnecessary pressure on other filmmakers and narrows the industry’s definition of success. She described such acts as a distraction, questioning the rush among actors and filmmakers to chase international recognition before establishing themselves at home.
“I think that we really should do away with the announcements. I feel like this is a distraction, and it puts pressure on those other people who feel as if that is the determinant and that’s how you determine my success. Somebody starts selling slippers and people are rushing to buy slippers, the next one is going to sell slippers because they think that slippers sell, meanwhile they don’t understand what you have put in to ensure the slipper sells. It’s great to hunger for more, but I always say, have you even conquered Nigeria that you can stand and say that if I go to Kano they know me as an actor?” she said.
