Ije: 200,000 DVDs Sold First Day Out

IJE, The Journey, Nollywood’s highest grossing movie of all time at the cinema is set to continue its winning ways in the DVD market. IJE has already toppled the record set by Fune Akindele’s Jenifa which sold 100,000 copies in its first week by selling about 200, 000 on its first day on the shelf.
IJE: The Journey tells the story of two sisters with unbreakable bonds of loyalty and the power of the human spirit.
When Anya, the eldest of the two, vows to chase her dreams of glamour in the Hollywood Hills, her younger sister, Chioma—warns her of the dark side of the American Dream. Now, years later, and in a world away from the life she knew, Anya is charged with the murder of three men, one of them her powerful husband.
Chioma travels to her sister’s side to battle not only a flawed justice system with the aid of a young and disillusioned attorney, but the very notion of “truth” as the cultural values of two worlds collide.
Weaving a melodic and beautiful score through rich visuals in Los Angeles and flashbacks on location in Nigeria, IJE captures the viewer from the very first scene and delivers a powerful message through to the moving conclusion.
The movie is selling in over 6000 stores in Nigeria, the US and some parts of North America and on music and video merchandising site, i-Tunes. There will also be live screening on the following sites: www.ijethefilm.com, Amazon and I-tunes.
Speaking on the impressive DVD sales, the director and producer of the movie, Chineze Anyaene couldn’t hide her joy at the feat; “Selling that much on the first day is huge, its more than encouraging. It is not a common feat in a country like Nigeria as a director and producer is always up against various factors,’’ she said.
For the New York Film Academy graduate, the journey into Nollywood has been interesting since she overcame her father’s initial opposition to her career choice. “My father didn’t want me to act in movies for the fear of men touching me on set. He particularly said that no daughter of his would act because he was so uncomfortable with the way men touch ladies while on set but when I told him I was going behind the camera to direct and produce, he said okay, that’s not bad. At a point my mum wanted me to study law but when I returned with my first short film, my father was stunned but very happy and couldn’t believe I could do that, he was impressed.” Anyaene said.
The movie, IJE which stars two of Nollywood’s finest, Omotola Jalade Ekeinde and Genevieve Nnaji has been tipped to achieve another Nollywood milestone by selling more at the DVD market than it has already done thereby setting a record others will have to work very hard to break. [TD]