“STOP ANNOUNCING HOW MUCH YOUR MOVIE MADE,….” — BIODUN STEPHEN TELLS COLLEAGUES

Nollywood filmmaker Biodun Stephen has urged her colleagues to stop announcing cinema earnings, warning that the practice puts unnecessary pressure on other filmmakers and creates a narrow definition of success in the industry.

The announcement remarks were made during an appearance on the Paul & Baaj: In Character podcast .

THE CALL

Stephen was direct about her position. “I think that we really should do away with the announcements,” she said.

She argued that publicising box office figures distracts filmmakers from focusing on the quality and impact of their work.

“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.

THE SLIPPER ANALOGY

Stephen used a simple analogy to illustrate her point. “Somebody starts selling slippers and people are rushing to buy slippers, the next one is going to sell slippers because they think that slippers sells, meanwhile they don’t understand what you have put in to ensure the slipper sells,” she said.

She warned that imitating success without understanding the work behind it leads to failure.

THE INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION QUESTION

Stephen also questioned the tendency among some filmmakers and actors to pursue international recognition before establishing a strong presence in Nigeria.

“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 asked.

THE SHALLOW NUMBER

Stephen argued that box office earnings alone were insufficient to determine a film’s quality or longevity.

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“A film can make a lot of money 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,” she said.

PURPOSE OVER NUMBERS

She explained that her motivation was rooted in purpose rather than the pursuit of box office records.

“I’m doing it because I am living a life of purpose. I’m not chasing the numbers, I’m not chasing the audience,” she said .

She added that the emotional impact of her stories mattered more than awards.

“When people call me to pray and cry and say thank you so much, Jesus, my work is done, no award,” she said.

WHY IT MATTERS

Stephen’s intervention challenges the growing culture of box office announcements in Nollywood, where filmmakers increasingly publicise cinema earnings as a marker of success.

Her argument is that this culture creates a distorted hierarchy of value, where commercial performance is equated with quality, and where filmmakers who prioritise storytelling and impact are made to feel inadequate.

Whether the industry heeds her call remains to be seen. But her voice is a necessary counterweight to the numbers-driven narrative that has come to dominate Nollywood’s public discourse.

ValidViewNetwork reports that Stephen’s comments have sparked discussion among filmmakers and fans.