“Debt dancing around my neck” — Kosoko opens up on N300m film loss

Veteran Nigerian actor 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, TheCable Lifestyle reports.

Speaking in a recent interview on African A-List, Kosoko said the funds used to produce the film came from investors who expected returns on their investment, not from his own pocket. “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.

The filmmaker disclosed that the movie did not generate enough revenue to recover its production cost, with the little that was earned shared among those involved. “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,” he said.

Kosoko’s revelation comes weeks after actor Ramsey Nouah said taking a film to the cinema is not always a sound financial decision, noting that only a small fraction of cinema releases ever recoup their production costs, with many producers failing to recover their capital even after spending heavily on advertising and promotion.