Everything that can go wrong at a Lagos wedding does: an ex-girlfriend appears, the money-sprayers get out of hand, the families argue and the groom’s past catches up with him. The Wedding Party, released in December 2016, turned the chaos of a big Nigerian wedding into a comedy that filled cinemas and broke box office records for Nollywood.
The story, the director and the cast
Dunni Coker and Dozie Onwuka are getting married in Lagos. Their families, one Yoruba and one Igbo, have very different ideas about how the wedding should go. Over a single day, the celebration threatens to collapse under family politics, old relationships and party mishaps. The film was directed by Kemi Adetiba, a former music video director and presenter. It was her feature film debut, and its success made her one of Nigeria’s most prominent directors. She later made King of Boys.
Adesua Etomi played Dunni and Banky W played Dozie. The cast included Richard Mofe-Damijo, Sola Sobowale, Ireti Doyle, Alibaba and Iyke Okechukwu.
Romance, box office and the sequel
Adesua Etomi and Banky W began dating after the film and married in 2017, a wedding that itself became a major celebrity event in Nigeria. The film was produced by EbonyLife Films, led by Mo Abudu, with Inkblot Productions, FilmOne and Koga Studios. The Wedding Party became the highest-grossing Nollywood film at the Nigerian box office at the time of its release, earning more than 400 million naira.
The Wedding Party 2: Destination Dubai followed in 2017, continuing the story with a new wedding. It also performed strongly. The film captured the excess, humour and drama of Nigerian weddings that audiences recognised. Its polished production also helped attract audiences to cinemas.
Toronto and wedding culture on screen
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2016 as part of a spotlight on Lagos. Its success encouraged more investment in big-budget Nollywood comedies for cinema release. The film depicted familiar parts of Nigerian weddings, from aso-ebi and money spraying to rival families and the MC’s jokes. Many viewers recognised their own relatives in the characters.
The Wedding Party was a comedy about a wedding that nearly fell apart. Its success helped prove that Nollywood could fill cinemas with stories Nigerians knew from their own family events.
