Behold Nollywood’s queens of YouTube

Video sharing platform, YouTube, is now a veritable way for actors and filmmakers to share their movies with fans. With this avenue, the filmmakers bypass conventional marketers and take their movies straight to the audience, while getting paid by the platform. In this first part of a series, TOFARATI IGE takes a look at female Nollywood actresses and filmmakers who have the highest number of subscribers and viewers on the web-based platform

Ruth Kadiri

Actress and filmmaker, Ruth Kadiri, is one of the Nollywood personalities doing amazingly well on YouTube. Her channel (RuthKadiri247) has 2.41 million subscribers and 94 videos.

Within hours, her contents attract hundreds of thousands of views, and in weeks, the viewership runs into millions.

As of the time of filing this report, her last video titled, ‘The Trenches Kid’, was uploaded five hours ago, and it had racked up 186,000 views.

A movie titled, ‘Married to Myself’, which stars Chidi Dike, Francess Nwabunike and Stefania Bassey, was uploaded on July 18, 2024, and as of July 25, it had garnered two million views.

Another movie titled, ‘Forever Yours’, which features veteran actor, Pat Attah; and Emem Inwang, was uploaded on July 11, 2024, and as of July 25, it had been viewed 1.4 million times.

Yet another movie titled, ‘After School’, was posted on May 30, 2024; and by July 25, it had been watched by 7.9 million people.

A film titled, ‘Better Half’ was uploaded on July 13, 2023, and as of July 25, 2024, it had been watched by over 20 million people.

Her oldest film on the channel is titled, ‘Mad Wife’. It was posted on January 21, 2022, and as of July 25, 2024, it had attracted 4.4 million views.

Saturday Beats gathered that as a result of her popularity on YouTube, she is the toast of many actors, who want to feature in her movies.

She is also credited with helping many young and relatively unknown actors get popular as she usually features them in her movies.

Omoni Oboli

Actress and filmmaker, Omoni Oboli, is fondly called the ‘box office queen’ by her admirers. But, she is apparently not satisfied with that. With her recent moves, it is not far-fetched to also call her a YouTube queen.

Her YouTube channel (OmoniOboliTV) has 431,000 subscribers and 271 videos.

In an introduction video on the channel, she said, “Hi. My name is Omoni Oboli, actor, filmmaker and owner, of Omoni Oboli TV. As a filmmaker, I have produced and directed several movies for the cinema and different streaming giants. But, I’m here now on YouTube because I know that we have a massive global audience here. So, I am here with premium Nigerian movies for your entertainment. So, every week, we release a new movie. Sit back, relax and enjoy our movies. And, while you’re at it, please like, comment and make sure that you are subscribed to our channel, so you never miss a movie, Make sure you click the notification bell, so every time we have a new movie, you will be notified. I cannot wait to have you in my community.”

The latest movie on the channel is titled, ‘Love and Legacy’, and it was posted on July 18, 2024. As of July 25, it had been viewed 654,000 times.

The actress also regularly engages with her subscribers and viewers, as she replies to many of the comments on the page.

Another movie titled, ‘Trouble Next Door’, was uploaded on July 4, 2024. The film which stars John Ekanem, Detola Jones, Tony Mezie and Amanda Iriekpen, among others, has been watched 1.2 million times.

Though she started posting videos on the channel about seven months ago, Oboli is fast making up for lost time.

Her oldest movie on the platform is titled, ‘The One Who Stole my Heart’, and it was posted on December 16, 2023. It currently has 147,000 views.

Another movie titled, ‘Unfaithfuls’ was posted on May 25, 2024, and it has garnered 1.7 million views.

Yet another movie titled, ‘Cold as Ice’, has been watched 2.4 million times. It was posted on April 12, 2024.

Uduak Isong-Oguamanam

Many successful filmmakers just have name recognition; their faces are not easily recognisable.

However, Uduak Isong-Oguamanam does not belong to that class of silver screen practitioners. Her name rings a bell, and her face will also not go unnoticed by many people.

She started her career many years ago, and she has made popular movies such as ‘Okon Lagos’ (2011), ‘Okon Goes to School’ (2013), ‘Desperate Housegirls’ (2015), and ‘Lost in London’ (2017).

Unlike some of her peers though, she is not missing out on the digital revolution as she is one of the people with a large viewer base on YouTube.

Her YouTube channel (Uduak Isong TV) has 536,000 subscribers and 106 videos.

In the latest video she posted on the channel, she thanked the viewers, both old and new. She said, “Hi, guys. How are you doing? I hope everybody is keeping well. This is just a short video to thank all of you who have followed the channel for these many years; and even the newcomers. Some people send us money, and that is incredible. We appreciate your support, and don’t take it for granted.”

She also intimated to her subscribers and viewers that she had released a lot of movies this year (2024); even as she informed them that she and her crew would be taking a rest to recharge, and later release other films.

The latest movie on the channel is titled, ‘Karate Hearts’, which was posted on July 10, 2024, and it has been watched by 291,000 people.

Another film titled, ‘Together in Love’, stars Bimbo Ademoye and Jeffrey Nortey. It was uploaded on May 29, 2024, and it has garnered 721,000 videos.

A love-themed movie titled, ‘A Perfect Proposal’ was posted on April 17, 2024. The film which stars Majid Michel and Ekamma Iyang has been viewed by 2,400,000 people.

The oldest video on the channel was posted on February 23, 2013, and it contains a recording of an interview by Isong-Oguamanam. However, the oldest movie on the channel is a comedy web series titled, ‘Malachi and Friends’. It was posted on March 28, 2018.

Mercy Johnson

One of the most popular actresses of her generation, Mercy Johnson-Okojie, is not a newcomer in the industry.

She gained popularity with movies such as ‘Dumebi the Dirty Girl’, ‘Baby Oku in America’, ‘Hustlers’ and ‘War in the Palace’.

Over the years, she has also evolved into being a YouTube queen. Her YouTube channel (MercyJohnsonOkojieTV) has 379,000 subscribers and 38 videos.

The latest video on the channel is the movie, ‘Sabina and Koko’. Posted on July 18, 2024, it has racked up 621,000 views.

Another movie on the channel titled, ‘Crazy Big Sis’ stars Mercy Johnson, Michael Godson and Chinyere Wilfred. Posted on March 29, 2024, it has attracted 1,100,000 views.

Yet another movie titled, ‘Double Door’ was posted on March 21, 2024, and it has been watched 2,500,000 times.

The oldest movie on the channel is titled, ‘The Birthday’. Posted on September 8, 2023, it has been viewed 2,800,000 times.

Uche Nancy

Uche Nancy is definitely not a pushover when it comes to YouTube. Her channel (Uche Nancy TV) has 1,200,000 subscribers.

Nancy, who is a costumier and filmmaker, has 1,600 videos on the channel.

The latest movie on the channel is titled, ‘A Man’s Nightmare’, and it was published on July 21, 2024. It has been viewed 368,000 times.

Another movie titled, ‘Daddy and Me’ was posted on June 30, 2024, and it has been watched 1,100,000 times.

Yet another movie on the channel titled, ‘Love or Money’ was posted on May 19, 2024, and it has amassed 4,600,000 views.

The movie, ‘Boss Baby in Love’ was posted on April 3, 2024, and it has 3,100,100 views.

Having got on the YouTube train quite early, the oldest movie on her channel is titled, ‘The Neighbour’, and it was posted on April 27, 2016. It has notched up 535,000 views.

Bimbo Ademoye

Award-winning actress, Bimbo Ademoye, needs no introduction. Movies she has featured in have been successful on different platforms, including cinemas and digital streaming platforms.

Beyond those avenues, she is also a YouTube queen. Her channel (Bimbo Ademoye TV) has 602,000 subscribers. She posts skits and movies alike on the platform.

The latest movie on the channel is titled, ‘Shinning Star’. Posted on June 14, 2024, it has been viewed 2,500,000 times.

Another movie titled, ‘Unexpected Places’, which stars Ademoye and Timini Egbuson, was posted on May 3, 2024, and it has been watched a whopping 9,700,000 times.

The oldest videos posted on the channel are different episodes of the skit, ‘Teropi Secxxion’, which were uploaded in 2022.

Some of the actress’ skits on the channel are ‘Teropi Secxxion’, ‘Sibe’ and ‘Chronicles of a Lagos Girl’.

Destiny Etiko

Actress, Destiny Etiko, is well known in Nollywood, especially the Asaba axis of the vibrant industry.

However, she has shown that she has no intention of being limited to a geographical space to exhibit her craft. She is currently taking advantage of YouTube to reach a vast audience unhindered by borders.

Her YouTube channel (DestinyEtiko TV) has 585,000 subscribers and 406 videos.

The latest movie on the channel is titled, ‘Church Business’. Starring Etiko, controversial cross dresser, James Brown; and Ekene Umenwa, it was posted on May 27, 2024, and it has attracted 941,000 views.

Another film titled, ‘Brave Heart’, which stars veteran actors, Gentle Jack; and Zubby Michael, was posted on May 20, 2024, and has been watched 1,600,000 times.

The oldest movie on the channel is titled, ‘Drama Doll’, and it was posted on November 26, 2020. As of the time of filing this report, it had 11,000 views.

Lizzy Gold

Actress and filmmaker, Lizzy Gold’s name might not ring a bell as loud as some of the other actresses on this list. However, she is gradually and steadily building her YouTube presence, thus affording her the opportunity of projecting her work to a larger audience.

Her channel (LizzyGold TV) currently has 275,000 subscribers and an engaging comments section.

The latest movie on the page is titled, ‘Ghost in a Mansion’. Posted on July 24, 2024, and has been viewed 161,000 times.

Another movie titled, ‘When She Cries’, was posted on April 25, 2024, and it has been viewed 1,800,000 times.

The oldest movie on the platform is titled, ‘Moving Train’, which was posted on June 15, 2024, and has been watched 602,000 times.

Need for improvement

Since the video platform is giving filmmakers an avenue to showcase their movies and make money, many have argued that quality should not be sacrificed.

Some fans have called out some filmmakers for the shoddy presentation of their movies, and viewers have called for the use of good cameras, interesting storylines, capable cast and crew, and accurate subtitles, among many other demands.