Only in its third week, Ramsey Nouah’s directorial debut Living in Bondage: Breaking Free has joined Nollywood’s ₦100 million club and is now the tenth highest-grossing Nigerian film in history.
The film’s ₦100 million gross also makes it the biggest Nigerian film of 2019 after Bolanle Austen-Peter’s The Bling Lagosians which amassed ₦120 million over its 10-week cinema run.
Given Breaking Free’s quicker run to ₦100 million, there is a high probability of it surpassing Bling Lagosian’s gross and even going all the way to the ₦200M club. The film is still showing in 52 locations nationwide, an impressive number for a Nollywood movie in its third week.
Box office numbers for Nollywood films have been depressing this year but as we approach the year’s end, the returns have been more promising and with EbonyLife Films’ Your Excellency, AY’s Merry Men 2 and the star-studded Sugar Rush coming this December, we are expecting more potential ₦100 million blockbusters.
Breaking Free is the sequel to the 1992 home video classic, Living in Bondage, which follows Andy Okeke, a happily married man who, unsatisfied with its current financial status, sacrifices his wife for wealth. The new film introduces audiences to his son, Nnamdi Okeke, who, like his father, has an insatiable hunger for wealth.
The film has received critical acclaim for its stunning cinematography, the charismatic performance of its lead actor, and tackling the money ritual subplot without any fight between Christianity and indigenous beliefs.
Breaking Free stars Swanky JKA, Ramsey Nouah, Shawn Faqua, Kanayo O. Kanayo, Bob-Manuel Udokwu, Enyinna Nwigwe, Nancy Isime, and Kenneth Okonkwo.