Nollywood’s newest thriller, The Weekend, directed by Daniel Oriahi, has made a powerful impression on the Nigerian field workplace.
After lower than two weeks in cinemas, the movie has grossed N18.1 million, with N8 million earned throughout its opening weekend alone.
Based on knowledge from the Nigerian Field Workplace, The Weekend secured its place among the many prime performers between September 6 – 8, exhibiting the movie’s attraction amidst stiff competitors from each native and worldwide releases.
The Weekend, a bloody thriller that explores the darkish secrets and techniques of a girl’s soon-to-be in-laws, is directed by Oriahi and produced by Uche Okocha of Trino Movement Photos.
What to know
The movie’s storyline centres round Nikiya, portrayed by Uzoamaka Aniunoh, who’s seeking to be accepted by her fiancé Luc’s (Bucci Franklin) household.
However what begins as a heat household go to takes a grisly flip as hidden truths start to floor. The movie’s concentrate on household dynamics, relationships, and psychological trauma, alongside its sharp storytelling, has garnered vital consideration.
Earlier than its Nigerian field workplace launch, The Weekend premiered within the Midnight part of the Tribeca Pageant, a prestigious worldwide movie occasion in New York.
Oriahi, who has been within the Nollywood trade for over a decade, shared his ideas on the film. “One yr you’re making low-budget films, then the subsequent yr, you’re getting referred to as that your movie has been chosen for Tribeca.”
Although The Weekend is by far Oriahi’s most formidable manufacturing up to now, with a finances far exceeding his earlier tasks, he acknowledges the sensible realities of constructing movies in Nollywood.
The film was shot in lower than three weeks, with minimal preparation time after Oriahi took over from a earlier director.
Regardless of the constraints, the movie’s success on the field workplace displays Nollywood’s rising means to compete in each native and worldwide markets.
Extra insights
The field workplace success of The Weekend comes amid a extremely aggressive weekend, with a number of worldwide and home titles delivering sturdy performances. Main the cost was Deadpool & Wolverine, which has already grossed a staggering N642 million cumulatively and added a powerful N19.7 million over the weekend.
The movie’s continued dominance displays the viewers’s urge for food for big-budget worldwide blockbusters alongside native productions.
Daniel Oriahi, who beforehand directed the psychological horror movie Sylvia in 2018, has a repute for exploring darker, extra advanced narratives.
Sylvia, which starred Zainab Balogun, Chris Attoh, and Ini Dima Okojie, marked a major departure from mainstream Nollywood, establishing Oriahi as a filmmaker keen to take artistic dangers.