Behind the Scenes, the record-breaking blockbuster from Funke Akindele, is set to begin streaming on Netflix on April 3. The film dominated the box office during its theatrical run, grossing over ₦2.7 billion across West Africa and becoming the highest-grossing Nollywood film of all time. It cemented its place as one of the biggest theatrical events in the industry, with more than 450,000 cinema admissions recorded during its run, which ended mid-March.
(Click to Follow the What Kept Me Up channel on WhatsApp)
The upcoming Netflix release marks Akindele’s return to red house since Omo Ghetto: The Saga. It shows a pattern that has defined Akindele’s distribution strategy over the years. While much of the industry leaned heavily into global streaming deals after COVID, she maintained a consistent cinema-first approach and consistently broke records during her annual December run.
After the celebrated entry of Prime Video in 2022, she was locked into a post-theatrical deal with the streamer, which meant Battle On Buka Street, A Tribe Called Judah, and Everybody Loves Jenifa went on to Prime Video after their cinema run. During that relationship with blue house, Finding Me and She Must Be Obeyed also went straight to them as originals.
As conversations around the global streaming slowdown (which affected Prime Video) continue, Akindele’s return to Netflix with Behind the Scenes highlights how she has worked across cinema, streaming, and television, without relying on a single distribution pipeline. She has simultaneously spread her projects on YouTube (Aiyetoro Town) while maintaining long-running TV success with Jenifa’s Diary. She mastered the multi-platform strategy before it became a necessity for others. Her sustained success allows her to return to Netflix quickly—less than a month after leaving cinemas—while maintaining her box office queen status as she works across multiple platforms.
Released in cinemas on December 12, 2025, and co-directed by Akindele and Tunde Olaoye (Everybody Loves Jenifa), Behind The Scenes features an ensemble cast including Scarlet Gomez, Uzor Arukwe, Destiny Etiko, Tobi Bakre, Iyabo Ojo, alongside Akindele herself. The drama follows Aderonke “Ronky-Fella” Faniran (Scarlet Gomez), a wealthy but overly generous real-estate mogul whose life is gradually consumed by the relentless demands of friends and family who depend on her success. Produced by Funke Akindele and Wendy Uwadiae Imasuen, cinematography was handled by Samuel Adebayo (Hard on Gone), with a screenplay written by Akindele, Uche Mordi, and Collins Okoh.
Behind the Scenes also set multiple performance milestones along the way. It became the first Nollywood film to cross the ₦2 billion mark, while also achieving ₦512 million within its first 12 days, making it the fastest Nollywood title to surpass the ₦500 million milestone.
The momentum continued through the festive season, when it posted the highest single-day gross in Nollywood history on Boxing Day 2025, earning ₦129 million in one day. The FilmOne-distributed title also performed strongly overseas, emerging as a high-performing Nollywood release in the United Kingdom and Ireland, while recording notable ticket sales across North America and Canada, according to reported numbers by FilmOne.
Become a patron: To support our in-depth and critical coverage—become a Patron today!
Join the conversation: Share your thoughts in the comments section or on our social media accounts.
Track Upcoming Films: Keep track of upcoming films and TV shows on your Google calendar.