Biodun Stephen Explains Why She Opposes Cinema Earnings Announcements

Actress and filmmaker Biodun Stephen has explained why she opposes public announcements of cinema earnings, urging her colleagues to stop publicising how much their movies make at the box office.

Stephen said the practice puts unnecessary pressure on other filmmakers and narrows the industry’s definition of success.

The filmmaker made the call during an appearance on the Paul & Baaj: In Character podcast, where she argued that box office announcements distract filmmakers from focusing on quality and impact.

“I think that we really should do away with the announcements,” she said.

“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,” she added.

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According to her, when filmmakers constantly announce huge figures, colleagues whose films make less begin to feel like failures even when their work has artistic value.

She went on to liken the situation to the trend of people rushing into a business because they see others succeeding at it.
“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,” she said.

Stephen also questioned the rush among actors and filmmakers to chase international recognition before establishing themselves at home.
“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 queried. BuyMaps

She maintained that box office earnings alone do not determine a film’s quality, longevity, or global potential, noting that a film can make huge money at the cinema without necessarily being great. In contrast, a well-made film with export potential may earn less.

“The film go tough, but it can be a lot of crap, and then the film that is really good that can travel, that has export value, can do 40 million… the only yardstick for measuring success is this very shallow number.”