If there’s one Nollywood movie that had everyone talking in 2022, it’s Brotherhood. The action thriller, which follows twin brothers (played by Falz and Tobi Bakre) on different sides of a massive heist, took over the cinemas in 2022, reminding us that Nollywood doesn’t have to make a rom-com to grab the audience’s attention.
With Brotherhood coming to Amazon Prime in 2023, I went digging for some cool random facts you probably don’t know about this banger of a film.
Brotherhood was the highest-grossing Nollywood film of 2022
In a year that big Hollywood movies like Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, The Woman King and Avatar: The Way of Water occupied Nigerian cinemas, Brotherhood still came out strong as the highest-grossing Nollywood film with ₦328.9M. As a loyal fan, is there anything for the boys? Just asking.
Brotherhood has the largest ensemble of BBNaija housemates in one film
Show me which other Nollywood film has five ex-Big Brother Naija housemates playing serious roles, not waka pass or cameos? From Brotherhood’s leading man, Tobi Bakre, to Dorathy Bachor, Dianne Russet, Boma Akpore and Seyi Awolowo, the film was packed with BBNaija star power. Ebuka should be proud of his people.
The writers of Brotherhood knew it was almost impossible to film in Nigeria
According to Abdul Tijani-Ahmed, who wrote the TV show Ricordi and co-wrote Brotherhood, he had a running joke with his co-writer, Jade Osiberu, that they’d write whatever worked for the story no matter how outrageous it sounded, and leave production to figure out how to shoot them. Fun fact: Jade was the film’s producer, so she was setting herself up. Luckily for the audience, they made that magic happen.
Brotherhood’s director is Ugandan
While many people assumed Jade Osiberu directed Brotherhood, the film was actually directed by a Ugandan filmmaker, Loukman Ali. Loukman is also responsible for The Girl in the Yellow Jumper, a gripping thriller anyone who liked Brotherhood should see ASAP.
This is the first time Falz is playing a non-comedic role
Falz speaking regular English without an exaggerated Yoruba accent? I’m here for it. While the rapper has proven himself as one of the funniest comedic actors of the moment with Jenifa’s Diaries, Quam’s Money and Chief Daddy
Brotherhood is Jade Osiberu and Tobi Bakre’s second film together
Are Jade Osiberu and Tobi Bakre the Nigerian version of Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese? This and whether or not my soulmate has already married someone else are the two questions that keep me up at night. Before Brotherhood, Tobi and Jade worked on the 2019 action comedy Sugar Rush. They also have a third film, Gangs of Lagos, coming later in 2023.
OC Ukeje, is that you with dreadlocks?
We’ve seen OC Ukeje rock different looks and play complex roles before, but something about his character, Izra, stands out. Yes, it’s the dreadlocks (and maybe all the times I wanted to kill him myself while watching the film). This hair on OC is a major slay, and I’m here for it.
Brotherhood is the highest-grossing Nollywood action film of all time
Move over romantic comedies because action films might be coming for the Nollywood crown. Brotherhood currently occupies the sixth spot on the list of highest-grossing Nollywood films of all time, including The Wedding Party, Omo Ghetto: The Saga and Chief Daddy in the top five. Remember, this film literally came out months ago and is already this high up the list.
Brotherhood started showing in 14 African countries at the same time
It’s one thing to open your film in Nigerian cinemas, gauge the response and then start showing in Ghana or something. But when you’re big, you’re big — and Brotherhood was big. The film opened in 14 countries, a ballsy move mostly associated with big Hollywood franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe or Twilight.
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