‘I forget to eat and I don't make my hair’ — Funke Akindele opens up on sacrifice behind ₦2.7 billion film

• Funke Akindele says making her ₦2.7bn film came with sleepless nights and personal sacrifice.

• The actress revealed she often forgot to eat and neglected her personal life while working.

• Her comments have sparked fresh conversations online about the price of success in Nollywood.

Nollywood actress and filmmaker Funke Akindele has opened up about the personal toll behind the commercial success of her latest film Behind The Scenes, revealing that the movie's ₦2.7 billion box office run came at the cost of her sleep, social life and basic self-care.

The remarks, made during an interview with Bella Naija conducted four days before they began circulating widely on X on Monday, have reignited conversation about what sustained success at the highest level of the Nigerian film industry actually demands.

Akindele said the achievement did not arrive easily, describing a period of intense personal sacrifice that went beyond professional effort.

"For the last movie to cross ₦2.7 billion, it was a lot of sleepless nights for me. A lot of sacrifice, giving my all. I forget to eat sometimes," she said.

She went further, describing how her dedication to the project meant withdrawing almost entirely from her personal life during the period leading up to the film's release.

"I abandoned myself for work. I don't even make my hair, except I'm going on the red carpet or for something very important. I don't attend parties. I don't go to greet people at home. I put everything into work, research, writing, work. I'm neck deep into work," she said.

Akindele added that it was only recently that she had begun redirecting some of that energy toward herself.

"It's just now that I'm relaxed, feeling fresh, doing the skincare routine, looking beautiful, smelling nice," she said.

Behind The Scenes, which Akindele wrote, produced and directed, crossed ₦2.7 billion at the Nigerian box office, adding to a string of commercial milestones she has set in recent years. Her 2023 film A Tribe Called Judah grossed over ₦1 billion, while her Omo Ghetto franchise established her as one of the most commercially successful filmmakers in Nollywood history.

Akindele is widely regarded as one of the architects of the modern Nollywood box office era, a period in which Nigerian films have consistently crossed nine-figure revenue marks and begun competing for mainstream cinema attention beyond the country's borders.

Reactions to the resurfaced clip on X were largely sympathetic, with many users pointing to her comments as a reminder of the discipline that separates sustained commercial success from occasional breakthroughs. Others noted that her willingness to speak openly about the personal cost of ambition was itself unusual in an industry where public figures rarely discuss the unglamorous side of achievement.

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