Funke Akindele’s latest films, “Everybody Loves Jenifa” and “Alakada! Bad and Boujee”, has driven Nigerian cinemas to a record-breaking N1 billion in ticket sales within a single week.
According to data from Nile Media Entertainment Group, cinema ticket sales reached N1.02 billion between December 20 and 26, 2024, marking an unprecedented achievement for the Nigerian film industry.
“Today, we’re proud to announce an incredible milestone: the Nigerian box office has surpassed N1 billion in a single week in 2024,” stated the independent entertainment company.
“Everybody Loves Jenifa” alone has sold 153,800 tickets as of December 26, generating N782.8 million in just 14 days.
It is on track to surpass the N1 billion mark in fewer days than Akindele’s previous record-breaking film, “A Tribe Called Judah”, which hit the same milestone in 21 days.
The film also made history by becoming the fastest Nollywood movie to gross N500 million, achieving this in just 12 days.
Internationally, “Everybody Loves Jenifa” earned $100,000 in its opening weekend across nine territories, including the UK, USA, Canada, and Australia.
A breakdown of the week’s sales shows that December 26 was the highest-grossing day in Nigerian cinema history, with a total of N256.4 million in ticket sales.
Over 47,500 tickets were sold that day, placing it as the third-highest day for sales, behind December 26, 2019, and December 26, 2018.
“Everybody Loves Jenifa” also became the first Nigerian film to gross over N100 million in a single day, surpassing its previous record of N89.8 million.
During the week, four films exceeded N25 million in sales on a single day, while five titles surpassed N15 million, six earned over N10 million, and eight films grossed over N5 million.
Industry data from the Nigerian Box Office X page showed “Everybody Loves Jenifa” leading the charge with N426.9 million in sales, followed by “Mufasa” with N173 million, “Alakada: B&B” with N127.3 million, “The Waiter” with N104.2 million, and “Moana 2” with N52.7 million.
Nile Media praised the milestone, emphasizing that the N1.02 billion figure represents the passion, creativity, and resilience of the Nigerian film industry.
“It proves that our stories matter, that audiences are eager to connect, and that together, we can achieve greatness,” the company stated.
