The Story⚡
From its initial release as a box office title to its delayed debut on YouTube more than a year later, this article explores the unexpected failure of The Silent Intruder—and the financial loss its investor ultimately faced.
Tell Me More
From its debut as a box office title to its eventual migration to YouTube over a year later, The Silent Intruder tells a story far more sobering than the psychological thriller it offers on screen. Beyond the fictional plot lies a real-life drama of dashed expectations, underwhelming returns, and the unsettling question of whether Nollywood is becoming a graveyard for first-time investors.
A psychological thriller directed by Uyoyou Adia and produced by Mo Fakorede, The Silent Intruder follows a charismatic sex therapist who crosses professional boundaries to prey on the very women he counsels. Starring Pere Egbi (also the executive producer), Uche Montana, Kachi Nnochiri, Venita Akpofure, and Lucy Ameh, the film marked Pere Egbi’s first foray as a lead investor in a feature-length Nollywood film. Aside from him, it was also executive produced by Deyemi Okanlawon, along with Film One and Accelerate TV.
Ahead of its Valentine’s weekend release on February 9, 2024, Egbi teased the film on Instagram:
“This Valentine Season, dive into the provocative world of ‘Silent Intruder’, where the magnetic Zaki, a successful sex therapist, grapples with insatiable sex desires.”
Despite a promising start—grossing ₦16.53 million in its opening weekend and an alleged ₦53 million by the end of its theatrical run—the film was, by all financial measures, a commercial disappointment. Pere claimed to have invested over ₦200 million into the project, only to receive ₦8 million in return. Following its YouTube debut on April 13, 2025, the film has been viewed over 1.4 million times as of the time of writing this report.
Reacting to the experience on Instagram, he wrote:
“This nonsense some cinemas do—hiding films, poor screen times—it happened to The Silent Intruder. Imagine spending over ₦200 million (pre-production to post-production), and the film only made ₦53 million. Out of that, I personally got just ₦8 million.”
He further lamented that months after its box office run, major streaming platforms like Netflix and Prime Video showed no interest in acquiring the film, even as other films released around the same period secured distribution deals. Financially strained, Pere revealed that he had to return to the U.S. to repay a loan from a generous friend who helped fund the production.
“To the kind-hearted woman who lent me money, I had to go back to America to work just so I can pay her back. At this point, I don’t care about being blacklisted,” he wrote.
Pere’s story is not isolated. For many first-time or independent filmmakers in Nollywood, the industry’s lack of structure, especially in distribution, poses a critical barrier to success. Unfavourable screen times, unregulated box office practices, and opaque revenue-sharing systems make it difficult for investors to recover their costs, let alone turn a profit.
This raises an uncomfortable but necessary question: Is Nollywood systematically failing its first-time investors?
Many filmmakers have long accused cinema operators of prioritizing foreign films over local content—an issue that dates back decades. In fact, the dominance of foreign films was what prompted Nigeria’s 1972 Indigenization Decree under General Yakubu Gowon, which limited foreign content in cinemas and gave Nigerian films better access to screens. While this article does not advocate for a return to censorship or quotas, there is an urgent need for regulatory oversight to ensure fair screen allocation, especially for locally funded, independently produced films.
Further compounding the issue is the dwindling number of distribution options. With Netflix and Prime Video recently halting the commissioning of Nigerian originals, the pressure on filmmakers to find sustainable distribution models has reached new heights. Without innovation in how films reach audiences, more creatives may be forced to dump big-budget projects on YouTube—an option that, while increasingly popular, is rarely ideal for recouping multimillion-naira investments.
In the case of The Silent Intruder, a ₦200 million production now lives on YouTube. While some titles like Love in Every Word have enjoyed success on the platform, it’s a hard sell to pitch YouTube as a primary destination for high-budget films.
In Summary
Pere Egbi’s experience reflects a deeper, systemic issue in Nollywood: without reform, transparency, and better support for new entrants, the industry risks losing not only its first-time investors but also the fresh vision, energy, and capital they bring.
Until that changes, more “Silent Intruders” may find themselves drowned out not just by the noise of the box office, but by the silence that follows a failed investment.
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