When a movie becomes one of Nollywood’s biggest box office successes, people naturally want to know what made it different. Was it the story, the cast, the marketing, or something else entirely?
For Funke Akindele, the answer goes far beyond what audiences eventually see on the big screen. Behind the applause, record-breaking ticket sales and industry recognition was a journey that demanded discipline, sacrifice and an unwavering commitment to her craft.
In a recent interview with BellaNaija, the actress, filmmaker and producer opened up about the personal choices and work ethic that helped shape Behind The Scenes into a ₦2.7 billion box office success. Rather than crediting luck or a magic formula, she offered a rare glimpse into the mindset and sacrifices that fueled the film’s remarkable run.
Here are the five key lessons and habits Funke Akindele believes made the difference.
Funke Akindele’s Record-Breaking Journey
Funke Akindele is not just one of Nollywood’s biggest stars, she is also the highest-grossing filmmaker in Nigerian cinema. Over the years, she has built a reputation for creating films that connect with audiences while consistently setting new box office records.
Her rise began with the popular television series I Need to Know before the 2008 comedy Jenifa turned her into a household name. Rather than allowing the character to fade, she expanded it into The Return of Jenifa and later the hit television series Jenifa’s Diary, a franchise that won her multiple Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCAs) and cemented her place among Nigeria’s most celebrated entertainers.
Akindele’s success did not stop on television. She gradually established herself as one of Nollywood’s most bankable filmmakers, delivering one commercial hit after another. Omo Ghetto: The Saga became Nigeria’s highest-grossing film upon its release in 2020 before Battle on Buka Street raised the bar again in 2022.
In 2023, A Tribe Called Judah made history as the first West African film to earn more than ₦1 billion at the box office. She followed that feat with Everybody Loves Jenifa in 2024, which grossed over ₦1.6 billion and briefly became the highest-grossing Nigerian film of all time.
Then came Behind The Scenes. The 2025 blockbuster became the fastest film in West African history to cross the ₦1 billion mark, achieving the feat in just 19 days. It went on to become the first Nollywood film to surpass both ₦2 billion and ₦2.7 billion at the box office, further extending Akindele’s record as Africa’s highest-grossing filmmaker.
With a career built on record after record, many have wondered what keeps setting her films apart. During a recent interview with BellaNaija, Akindele finally offered a glimpse into the mindset and sacrifices she believes have fueled her remarkable success.
Secret 1: She Gave Her All to the Work
When asked what unique touch has helped her achieve such remarkable success, Funke Akindele did not point to talent, luck or even experience. Instead, her answer was hard work and complete commitment. She said:
“It’s a lot of work. When I say a lot of work, a lot of giving your all, you’re all into work.”
For Akindele, making a successful film begins long before the cameras start rolling. Every stage of the process demands her full attention, from developing ideas and researching stories to writing scripts and overseeing production. Rather than leaving everything to her team, she immerses herself in every aspect of the creative journey. She explained further:
“I put everything into work. Research, writing, work. I’m neck deep into work.”
Her words suggest that there is no shortcut to creating films that resonate with audiences. While viewers may only see the finished product on the big screen, she sees years of preparation, planning and relentless effort behind every success.
Looking back on the journey that led Behind The Scenes to become Nollywood’s first ₦2.7 billion film, Akindele made it clear that the achievement was built on an unwavering commitment to excellence. For her, success starts with showing up every day and giving everything the work demands.
Secret 2: She Put Work Before Her Social Life
For many people, success means finding the perfect balance between work and personal life. For Funke Akindele, however, there were seasons when filmmaking came first.
During the interview, she revealed that while building her career, she deliberately stepped away from many social activities so she could remain focused on her work.
“I don’t attend parties. I don’t go to greet people at home. I put everything into work.”
It was not because she disliked social gatherings or spending time with people. Rather, she understood that every invitation accepted was time taken away from developing stories, refining scripts or planning her next project.
Her schedule revolved around making better films. Instead of chasing appearances or trying to be everywhere, she chose to invest her time where she believed it mattered most.
That decision may have meant missing out on many social moments, but it also allowed her to devote the attention needed to consistently deliver movies that connected with audiences and broke box office records.
For Akindele, protecting her time became just as important as having creative talent. It was another sacrifice she believes contributed to the extraordinary success of Behind The Scenes.
Secret 3: She Sacrificed Her Own Comfort
One of the most striking moments from Funke Akindele’s interview came when she reflected on how little attention she paid to herself while pursuing her dreams. She admitted that it wasn’t until recently that she began taking time to appreciate herself and enjoy simple acts of self-care. She shared:
“You see comments that people are saying you look beautiful, you’re loving yourself in the mirror. Why did it take you so long to care about yourself? I abandoned myself for work.”
It was a deeply personal confession that revealed the human side of her success. While many people admired her achievements from a distance, few knew that they came at the expense of her own comfort and personal routine. She added:
“I don’t even make my hair, except I’m going on the red carpet for something very important.”
Now, with years of hard work behind her, Funke Akindele says she is finally beginning to slow down and pay more attention to herself. She revealed:
“It’s just now that I’m relaxed, feeling fresh, doing the skin care routine, looking beautiful, smelling nice.”
Her reflection serves as a reminder that the road to success often involves sacrifices that are invisible to the public. For Akindele, one of those sacrifices was putting her own needs on hold while she focused on building the career that has made her one of Africa’s most successful filmmakers.
Secret 4: She Embraced Sleepless Nights
For Funke Akindele, the success of Behind The Scenes was not the result of a few months of work. It was the product of countless long days that often stretched into the night.
Reflecting on the journey, she said the film’s record-breaking performance came with a price. In her words:
“It was a lot of sacrifice for me. So for me to get all these achievements, for the last movie to cross ₦2.7 billion, it was a lot of sleepless nights for me.”
Those late nights were not spent chasing headlines or celebrating milestones. They were dedicated to planning, creating, solving problems and making sure every detail of the project met the standard she had set for herself.
Her comments also show that success did not come without pressure. As someone who has repeatedly raised the bar in Nollywood, every new project brings greater expectations from audiences eager to see her outperform her previous achievements.
Rather than shy away from that pressure, Akindele embraced it. She accepted the sleepless nights and long hours as part of the process, believing that extraordinary results require extraordinary commitment.
For her, the box office numbers were never handed to her, they were earned, one late night at a time.
Secret 5: She Made Sacrifice Part of Her Daily Routine
Beyond the sleepless nights and long hours, Funke Akindele revealed that the demands of filmmaking often affected even the simplest parts of her daily life.
So consumed was she by work that she sometimes forgot to do something as basic as eat. She confessed:
“I forget to eat sometimes. And when I’m hungry, it’s late at night and I just sit on the floor. And I just eat my eba late night or my pounded yam.”
It is a simple image, but one that says a lot about how deeply she immersed herself in her work. While many people picture the glamorous side of filmmaking, Akindele’s reality was often far from it. Long hours on set, endless meetings, research, writing and production schedules sometimes pushed basic routines to the background.
For her, these were not isolated moments but part of the sacrifices she willingly made in pursuit of excellence.
Looking back, she believes every missed meal, every late night and every personal sacrifice contributed to the success of Behind The Scenes. The record-breaking ₦2.7 billion box office run, she suggests, was built not only on creativity and talent, but also on the discipline to keep going, even when it meant putting her own comfort aside.
In the end, Akindele’s interview offers a rare glimpse behind the glamour. It shows that while audiences celebrate the finished product, the journey to creating it is often filled with quiet sacrifices that few people ever get to see.
Conclusion
Funke Akindele’s success story is often told through impressive box office figures, sold-out cinemas and broken records. But her recent interview reveals that those achievements were built on much more than talent alone.
From giving everything to her work and stepping away from her social life to sacrificing her comfort, enduring sleepless nights and even forgetting to eat, Akindele painted an honest picture of the commitment required to reach the top.
While every filmmaker’s path is different, Akindele’s reflections offer a rare look behind the curtain of one of Nollywood’s biggest success stories. It reminds readers that before the applause, awards and billions at the box office, there was simply a woman determined to give her all to the work.
