By Iroyin Yoruba Television
LAGOS, NIGERIA — October 24, 2026
Veteran Nollywood actor and filmmaker Jide Kosoko has disclosed that he is facing debt after his historical film, Eleko: Oba Esugbayi, failed to generate enough cinema revenue to recover its production cost of more than ₦300 million.
Kosoko made the disclosure during an interview on the African A-List programme, in which he explained that the money used to produce the film came from investors who expected returns rather than personal gifts or donations.
The film, which premiered in cinemas in March 2026, tells a historical story associated with Oba Esugbayi Eleko and his resistance to British colonial rule in Lagos. Despite the scale of the production investment, Kosoko said the revenue generated was insufficient to repay the money committed to the project.
He explained that the limited earnings were shared among those involved, leaving the production unable to recover its full costs. The interview began attracting wider attention in Nigerian entertainment reporting on October 22 and 23.
Kosoko’s disclosure highlights the financial exposure faced by filmmakers who depend on private investors to finance cinema releases. When a production fails to attract sufficient paying audiences, the consequences can extend beyond the producer to people who supplied capital in expectation of a return.
The actor did not present the investment as money he had independently accumulated. Instead, he stressed that other people had entrusted funds to the production, making the failure to recoup the budget a financial obligation as well as a commercial disappointment.
The reported production budget exceeded ₦300 million, but the available reporting does not establish a complete audited breakdown of expenditure, distribution costs, cinema revenue, marketing expenses or the amount still owed to individual investors. It is therefore not possible to calculate the project’s final financial loss from the public statements alone.
Cinema performance also does not necessarily represent a film’s total lifetime earnings. Depending on distribution arrangements, a production may generate income through later streaming agreements, television licensing and other forms of exploitation. However, no specific subsequent deal or recovery plan for Eleko: Oba Esugbayi was confirmed in the reports reviewed.
Kosoko’s experience comes amid continuing debate within Nigeria’s film industry about the cost of producing cinema releases and the difficulty of converting audience interest into sufficient revenue. High production values can increase a film’s appeal, but they also raise the amount that must be recovered before investors begin receiving returns.
The case illustrates why producers need realistic budgets, transparent investment agreements, careful distribution planning and clear expectations about the risks associated with cinema releases. A film may have cultural or historical value without necessarily generating enough commercial income to cover its production costs.
Kosoko’s account is a personal disclosure about one production and should not be taken as proof that every Nigerian cinema release is unprofitable. It nevertheless draws attention to the risks faced by filmmakers working with substantial private investment.
For the industry, the central challenge is ensuring that creative ambition is matched by sustainable financing and distribution models. Whether the film can recover some of its costs through future distribution remains unclear from the public information available.