Following the revelation that N400m went into the production of ’93 Days’, a movie produced based on Nigeria’s effort to battle the Ebola disease in 2014, Nigerian comedian, Ayo Makun, has said that his newly-produced movie, ‘A Trip To Jamaica,’ costs a lot less.
The estimated cost of ‘93 Days’ revealed by the producers at a private screening of the movie in Lagos, made it the third most expensive movie to come out of Nigeria.
Half of a Yellow Sun had an estimated budget of N1.27 billion, while Kunle Afolayan’s CEO had a budget of $2 million — over N600 million at the current exchange rate.
While speaking with our correspondent, AY, who produced the highest grossing movie in the history of Nigeria, ‘30 Days in Atlanta,’ said, “Even if you divide the N400m into four places, we are not anywhere close to that kind of budget. I think it should give you an idea of how much it is. I cannot give you the exact figure that went into it now because I am still putting things together.”
He explained that the much anticipated movie, featuring Funke Akindele, would hit the cinemas across Nigeria on September 30. But he added that the premiere would take place on September 5.
“Stakeholders, movie practitioners and industry players are expected to see it first before it goes to public,” AY said.
As an investor, the comedian’s expectation is that the movie will do better than his first, ’30 Days in Atlanta.’
“I want to harvest from the seed I think I have sown and I believe the seed is good enough for people to consume.
“I would give it to ‘30 Days in Atlanta’ for opening the doors because it was highly accepted and appreciated. When you do a good work and you come out to say you want to do another, people will want to see the new thing. My prayer is that as my new effort comes out, it surpasses the achievement of ‘30 Days.’ If this does well, it will also give room to other ones we plan to do,” he said.
For people, who expect the continuation of ‘30 Days in Atlanta,’ the comedian said that it was a stand-alone project and there was nothing like that in their plans.
“But it is still Akpos in his usual series going to other places. It is still the Akpos’ character and the background you will see in ‘A Trip To Jamaica’. The movie is a spin off ‘30 Days in Atlanta.’ So, it works together for good.
“If the public expects the Part 2, we would give it to them. We know they are expecting it, but we need to take our time because it is a different project,” he added.
