Box office champ

In Nigeria however, anticipation was building feverishly and a December date was fixed for the film’s roll out. This made perfect sense as Abudu’s EbonyLife had taken advantage of the festive season to dominate the box office in 2015 with Fifty. Surely lightening could strike twice.

It did.

No one can sell a product quite like Mo Abudu and the baton had officially been passed to her to coordinate the film’s marketing push following the shocking death of Konga’s Chris Jeyibo in a car accident in October.

The Wedding Party may have left Toronto without an international distributor but the plan had always been the Nigerian market. Sequel to this, a lavish, over the top ‘’Grand World Premiere’’ was held in conjunction with the Dubai Tourism board while big name sponsors like Johnny Walker, Airtel and Access Bank were happy to partner.

Within the walls of Eko Hotel, Abudu’s team created a fantasy island far removed from reality with attractions like the Bridal Court where guests were welcomed with signature cocktails, a Gourmet Board where a 3- course dinner was served, and an after party held in The Honeymoon Bay. Heavyweights like Minister for Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, Tony Elumelu, Nkiru Anumudu and Biodun Shobanjo came armed with their cheque books to support perhaps the only person who can bring out guests of this calibre for a film screening.

Word of mouth began to spread and the anticipation was revved up. Not so surprisingly, the team opted out of screening The Wedding Party at the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) in November. Abudu’s Fifty did not screen at AFRIFF either and insiders insist that Abudu prefers to remain in control of the marketing and publicity of all her products.

The Wedding Party was always going to do well domestically, the question was how well? Like record breaking well? The film opened on 16, December and since then, it has been one record-breaking effort achievement after the other. Granted, the sources of the figures are Abudu’s social media handles and

Granted, the sources of the figures are Abudu’s social media handles and Filmone.

On opening weekend, tickets for The Wedding Party went for 2000 Naira a piece and this probably accounted for the opening weekend gross of 36million Naira, a number that broke the 35million record held briefly by A Trip to Jamaica in September and blew Hollywood champion, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’s opening weekend gross out of the water. By the end of the week one, The Wedding Party had also dispatched with another AY record, with a first week gross of 66million Naira.

In less than two weeks, the film has crossed the 100million naira mark, also besting AY’S 17 day mark and by next week, should cross the 150 million Naira mark, achieving in two weeks what it took A Trip to Jamaica six weeks to manage. These numbers are incredible and it will probably take a long time to witness another phenomenon like this.

To put this in context, Nigerian films at the end of their run, usually earn about four to five times their opening weekend numbers. The Wedding Party is doing its expected total gross in two weeks. At this rate, AY’s highest grossing film ever domestic record for A Trip to Jamaica, set a couple of weeks back, is already on the line and it is only a matter of time before The Wedding Party smashes it. A N200million record isn’t impossible if present momentum continues.

Critical mass

One of the most potent factors for the success of The Wedding Party has been strong word of mouth. People go out and convince their peers to go see it too. The critical reception has also been mostly positive. It is hard to determine the influence of critics in success stories like this (A Trip to Jamaica and it’s predecessor 30 Days in Atlanta were savaged by critics but still did record numbers) but it is a Nollywood rarity that a Nollywood film enjoys both critical and commercial success on this level.

Kunle Afolayan’s The Figurine comes to mind as one such film that enjoyed both. Kunle Afolayan has made three other films since that 2009 classic but while all have done brisk business at the box office, none, not even the 2014 period piece, October 1 has come close to the critical success story that was The Figurine.

To find a movie that was beloved critically and commercially on a scale similar to this, perhaps one would have to go back six years ago to 2010 when Chineze Anyaene’s Ije: The Journey, coasting on the movie star double bill of Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde and Genevieve Nnaji posted a then record of 60million Naira. But compared to its reported budget of $2.5million, it is no wonder Anyaene hasn’t made another film since. Half of a Yellow Sun thanks to the Chimamanda Ngozi-Adichie name recognition plus Hollywood factor, did some impressive numbers domestically but the film remains a critical and commercial misfire when foreign market earnings are placed side by side budget estimates.

Along the years, Nollywood films that have operated at the level of The Wedding Party and grossed up to 50million Naira have not always been critically successful. Fifty was dismissed as a meandering bore, Omoni Oboli’s Wives on Strike failed to score with critics and Afolayan’s The CEO came with a shambolic third act that nearly collapsed the entire film.

The Wedding Party on the other hand is generating unanimous praise across board. ‘’The laughs come in bursts and when they hit their mark, they do so accurately, as with Sola Sobowale’s theatrics and Kunle Idowu’s silliness’.’ This writer surmises in a review for YNaija.com.

The film critic for industry site, True Nollywood Stories gushes, ‘’This is an absolutely fantastic movie. From start to end, The Wedding Party is a pack of sheer goodness,’’ and for Pulse.ng, it is all love, ‘’The direction is excellent. Adetiba doesn’t let her picture dawdle. The movie kicks off exciting the audience, and moves at a pace that makes it interesting to watch… It offers enough laughs to overshadow its flaws and should bring a smile to anyone who has planned, attended or had a Nigerian wedding.’’

Comedy is King

As the numbers show, the three highest-grossing films in cinemas are Nigerian comedies (30 Days in Atlanta, A Trip to Jamaica, The Wedding Party) proving that there is a soft spot for films that make audiences laugh. But like many elements of life, it would be misleading to isolate just the one particular factor as being ultimately responsible for the universal acclaim.

It is important to note that this success has been a product of evolution and expansion as the industry grows bigger. If in 2010 when Ije: The Journey was released, there were only about 15 cinemas nationwide, at present the number is at least double that. Also if The Figurine hadn’t exploded at the box office, Ije: The Journey would almost certainly not have done such numbers. And Without Ije: The Journey, there would be no AY to try his hands at filmmaking.

The Wedding Party’s unprecedented success comes as a result of multiple factors. They include strategic collaboration between filmmakers, unbridled ambition, a finely assembled cast, a story that resonates, excellent marketing and publicity skills, a calculated release date, welcoming reviews, strong word of mouth and an audience that is open to be entertained.

Filmmakers nationwide should be excited.