Funke Akindele Targets ₦5 Billion With New Film

Award-winning Nollywood actress, producer and director, Funke Akindele, has revealed the marketing and distribution strategies behind her box office success, as she targets ₦5 billion in cinema revenue.

Akindele disclosed this during a fireside chat at the Creative Africa Nexus Weekend (CANEX) 2026, where she discussed how partnerships with digital platforms, grassroots engagement and international distribution could help Nollywood films reach wider audiences.

She explained that her approach goes beyond traditional celebrity endorsements, with a strong focus on working with young social media influencers who have active and engaged audiences.

Why Akindele Works With Micro-Influencers

The filmmaker said her promotional campaigns use influencers with different audience sizes, particularly those with strong engagement on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram.

She explained that her team sometimes questioned her decision to work with creators who had relatively few followers, but she prioritised the level of interaction on their pages.

“Let me talk about my collaboration with young influencers,” Akindele said.

“When I put up a list of influencers on TikTok, my team will ask, ‘This person has just 10,000 followers, why are you saying we should DM this person?’ I say, ‘Can’t you see the engagement? Don’t you see the comments on the page? Look at any post: look at the number of comments and likes.’”

She said collaborations helped expand the reach of her films and keep audiences interested in her projects.

“Collaboration for me is very important because I need to keep spreading the news about my content. The more numbers I add to what I already have, the bigger I become,” she added.

Akindele also highlighted her long-standing relationship with her Facebook community, saying she had built a loyal following since the early stages of her career.

She said the relationship had grown over the years, with fans following her personal and professional journey.

“I’ve built my community over the years on Facebook, from my humble beginnings when I used to wear winter boots with summer dresses… yes, with my drawn-on Nike eyebrows! They grew with me. I carried them along even when I didn’t know much about fashion. So these are the people I want—I want my fanbase and community there to know what I’m doing globally,” she said.

Akindele Explains Meta Partnership

The actress also discussed her plans to take her upcoming film, The Four: No One Fights Alone, to international audiences.

She said reaching viewers beyond West Africa would require partnerships with global digital platforms, particularly Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.

According to her, the collaboration would help promote the film and connect it with audiences across different countries.

“This new movie, The Four: No One Fights Alone—I want it to be global. We need that global representation; we want people worldwide to see and accept our content. And I’ve cooked it so well—the elements in there are wonderful,” she said.

Explaining why she approached Meta, Akindele compared the platform to a transport system capable of carrying information about her film to audiences worldwide.

“I need—let me use this word—a better transport system. Is it the molue or the danfo that will carry the gist worldwide? That’s Facebook! And I thought about it: Facebook is global, everybody knows Facebook. I needed to meet up with them so we could do something together,” she said.

She added that the company considered her track record before agreeing to the partnership.

Funke Akindele Sets ₦5 Billion Target

Akindele, whose previous films have recorded major box office successes, said her next commercial goal was to generate ₦5 billion in cinema revenue.

“I want to start with ₦5 billion. Let’s just start with that ₦5 billion target. When we get there, we’ll see if we can keep moving forward,” she said.

As part of its international release strategy, The Four: No One Fights Alone is scheduled for a UK showcase on November 29, 2026.

The film’s international prospects received a boost after tickets for its screening at Odeon Luxe, Leicester Square, reportedly sold out within two days.

The development highlights Akindele’s ambition to expand the international reach of Nollywood productions through digital marketing, strategic partnerships and wider cinema distribution.