Omotola Ekeinde
A Mother’s Love was premiered in Lagos on March 1, 2026 and its cinematic run beganon March 6.
Nollywood actress and producer Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde has revealed that her film A Mother’s Love grossed N103,094,633 during its cinema run but left producers with N22 million after industry deductions, with the net proceeds pledged to Slum to School.
Omotola disclosed the figures in a video shared online, offering an unusually detailed look at what remained from the film’s theatrical earnings.
The disclosure has drawn attention to the economics of cinema distribution in Nigeria, where a film’s headline box-office figure can be significantly higher than the amount ultimately received by its producers.
According to Omotola, deductions from the film’s gross included payments to exhibitors and distributors, advertising expenses, CAT, entertainment tax, VAT and withholding tax.
After those deductions, she said, N22 million was the amount that accrued to the producers of A Mother’s Love.
The actress said the cinema experience was a new challenge for her, particularly because it required a level of physical promotion and engagement with audiences that she had not previously undertaken as a producer.
“Our last cinema run was on the 19th of April; it was a beautiful day,” Omotola said, recalling her experience at the cinemas.
She explained that she ultimately had to withdraw the film earlier than planned because of pressing commitments, despite recognising the importance of remaining physically involved in promoting a cinema release.
“I know I would do the movie a disservice if I left it in the cinemas because I wouldn’t have the time to promote it or be there in the cinemas,” she said.
The decision meant that the film’s theatrical journey ended before Omotola had originally intended, but she described the overall experience as a win.
The premiere attracted several notable guests, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Omotola also made clear that the financial outcome was not being presented simply as a commercial return.
She said her production company, Red Hot Concepts, had promised to donate the net proceeds to Slum to School. In her account, the entire N22 million accrued to the producers was therefore committed to the organisation.
That gesture gives the film’s financial story another dimension. Rather than treating the remaining revenue solely as a return on production, the company chose to channel it towards a social cause.
The disclosure is also significant because it illustrates the gap between gross cinema earnings and producer revenue.
A film can cross the N100 million mark at the box office while the amount eventually available to its producers is substantially smaller after the various costs, taxes and revenue-sharing arrangements are settled.
Omotola’s decision to publish the figures has consequently opened a broader conversation about transparency and sustainability in Nollywood’s theatrical market.
The actress has previously spoken publicly about structural challenges within the Nigerian film industry, including differences between Nollywood and more established international markets in areas such as residual payments and long-term revenue.
Her latest disclosure comes after a particularly visible return to cinema filmmaking.
The project marked another significant chapter in her career as she combined her established acting profile with the responsibilities of producing and promoting a theatrical release.
The film’s theatrical run also generated moments beyond the box office.
In April, Omotola expressed appreciation to the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, after the monarch watched the film with his wives and actor Olumide Oworu. She described the production as both a film and a celebration of culture.
For Omotola, the experience appears to have offered both a practical lesson in the realities of cinema distribution and an opportunity to attach a social purpose to the project.
The N103.09 million gross remains the headline figure from the film’s run, but the N22 million that reached the producers tells a more revealing story about how theatrical revenue is divided before filmmakers receive their share.
By making those figures public, Omotola has provided audiences with a rare glimpse behind the box-office numbers while underscoring the charitable purpose attached to the film’s proceeds.
For a Nollywood industry increasingly focused on bigger theatrical earnings, the disclosure offers a timely reminder that the amount displayed as box office is not necessarily the amount a producer takes home.
