Two of Nollywood's most successful filmmakers, Funke Akindele and Mo Abudu, are preparing for a busy December in UK cinemas, with their latest productions, The Four: No One Fights Alone and The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives, heading to ODEON screens following a major London premiere and festival engagements.
Akindele has already made an impressive start, selling out the 791-seat ODEON Luxe Leicester Square auditorium for the 29 November premiere of The Four in just two days. The achievement, confirmed by distributor FilmOne Entertainment on 5 November, comes ahead of the film's UK cinema release on 4 December and its Nigerian opening on 11 December.
Produced by Funke Akindele Network, The Four follows four women whose friendship and loyalty are tested as they leave their community for the city to secure the future of a young man. Its ensemble cast includes Akindele, Chioma Akpotha, Bisola Aiyeola, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Timini Egbuson, Lateef Adedimeji and Uzor Arukwe, alongside singers Waje and Shoday.
Meanwhile, Abudu's The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives, directed by Daniel Oriahi and adapted from Lola Shoneyin's acclaimed novel, arrives with considerable international exposure. Following its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, the film screened at the BFI London Film Festival in October and is scheduled for UK theatrical screenings from 9 December, including ODEON Greenwich and Streatham.
Featuring Odunlade Adekola, Bimbo Ademoye, Mercy Aigbe, Iyabo Ojo and Omowunmi Dada, the film explores the secrets, rivalries and tensions within a polygamous household. Its festival appearances give it a different promotional advantage from Akindele's audience-driven campaign, setting up an interesting comparison between two approaches to attracting UK cinema audiences.
Akindele comes into the December season with a formidable box-office record. Her 2023 production A Tribe Called Judah reportedly earned more than £80,000 from five UK cinema locations over four weeks, according to figures attributed to FilmOne Entertainment. Everybody Loves Jenifa followed in December 2024, with international box-office database The Numbers recording $44,651 in UK receipts, while Behind the Scenes registered £42,125 in reported UK ticket sales in December 2025. In Nigeria, Behind the Scenes went on to exceed ₦2 billion, reinforcing Akindele's position as one of Nollywood's biggest commercial draws.
For Abudu, the UK cinema market is equally familiar territory. In October 2015, her EbonyLife Films production Fifty, directed by the late Biyi Bandele, premiered at Vue Cinema in London's Leicester Square during the BFI London Film Festival, selling out four days before the event. Two years later, The Wedding Party 2: Destination Dubai, directed by Niyi Akinmolayan, premiered at ODEON Greenwich on Boxing Day 2017 before opening across six UK cinema screens. The film grossed £45,812 in its opening week, debuting at No. 15 on the UK box-office chart and surpassing the previous Nollywood benchmark of £39,819 held by The Mirror Boy since 2011, according to UK distributor Talking Drum Entertainment. The achievement established Abudu's credentials in the British theatrical market long before her latest production, The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives.
While Akindele's strategy continues to demonstrate the commercial strength of her brand and ability to mobilise audiences for major releases, Abudu is combining film production, international festival exposure and investment in cinema exhibition. Both approaches reflect the growing ambition of Nigerian filmmakers to establish a stronger presence in the UK theatrical market.
With both films heading to UK cinemas this December, the question goes beyond which production will sell more tickets. Akindele has demonstrated the commercial strength of her brand and ability to attract audiences, while Abudu's track record and investment in exhibition infrastructure suggest a different approach to building Nollywood's presence in Britain. But which strategy is likely to deliver greater long-term success, and can either succeed without the other? The December releases may offer some answers.