– Takes N25m on opening weekend
Play Network Africa’s ‘Living in Bondage: Breaking Free’, has emerged Nigeria’s highest-grossing movie on an opening weekend of 2019, taking a total of N25.8 million at the box office.
Figures from the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN) showed that the sequel to 1992’s ‘Living in Bondage’ displaced movies from major global studios including Fox, Disney and Sony to achieve the feat.
Co-produced by Steve Gukas, Dotun Olakurin and Charles Okpaleke, the flick also had the highest opening for a non-comedy film, pulling well ahead of Kemi Adetiba’s ‘King of Boys’ released in 2018.
Ramsey Nouah directed the movie, which features renowned artists including Kenneth Okonkwo, Kanayo O. Kanayo, Enyinna Nwigwe, Nancy Isime, Munachi Abii and himself.
Feelers that the movie would succeed emerged was gleaned from the sustained applause from the media and other critical stakeholders at its advance screening held at Filmhouse, Oniru, Lagos on Wednesday, October 30, 2019.
Joseph Benjamin, a guest at the screening, noted that: “‘Living In Bondage: Breaking Free’ is a fantastic story, a cast of the first-class talent, great script and excellent soundtrack. The cinematography was out of this world, top class. It is funny. It is real. It is original. It is rich in suspense. As you might tell, I loved seeing it.”
The movie follows the life of Nnamdi, Andy Okeke’s unknown son. A regular boy in the hood, Nnamdi quit his job to pursue big dreams but is caught up in the usual trappings of the good life. Will he do something different, or will he act out the same playbook his father did and damn the consequences?
Co-producer, Dotun Olakurin, described the movie as a compelling story that Nigerians can relate with. “We believe we have a story that will bring everybody in. It relates to those who saw the old one. Those who had never seen ‘Living in Bondage’ before, we deliberately wrote a story that will appeal to fans of ‘Living in Bondage’ but will also appeal to fans of cinema. So, what we’ve delivered is a good film,” he said.
He further described it as a good story. “We chose to revisit the film because it’s a classic that was left open-ended. A classic that the new generation needs to know about. A classic that we need to see and know what happens next.”
Okonkwo, who plays the now-reformed ritualist, Andy Okeke said he is filled with a sense of fulfilment seeing the 27 years old blockbuster come to life again. “The first movie has sustained the tempo, the crescendo to the point that modern-day people, with all they’ve watched, started yearning for it, leading to the sequel. I feel very fulfilled,” he said.
Other movies on the Top 20 ranking list for this past weekend, 8 to November 10, 2019, were ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’, ‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’, ‘Black and Blue’, ‘Gemini Man’ and ‘Joker’. The others are ‘Midway’ ‘Bala’, ‘Elevator Baby’, ‘Dr Sleep’, ‘Abarwa Rai’, and ‘Dora and the Lost City of Gold.’ There’s also ‘Enemy Iknow’, ‘The Abominable’, ‘Everything But a Man’, ‘Farming’, ‘Don’t get mad, get Even’, ‘The Herbert Macaulay Affair’, ‘Housefull 4’ and ‘Alubarika.
Previously, the Top 12 films were:
The Wedding Party 1 – N452m
The Wedding Party 2 – N433m
Chief Daddy – N387m
King of Boys – N249m
Merry Men – N235m
A Trip to Jamaica – N181m
10 Days in Sun City- N177m
30 Days in Atlanta – N163m
Bling Lagosians- News addition currently at N80m but on track to do N120m to N150m
Up North -N94m
Isoken -93m