Nollywood's highest-grossing movies made over ₦3 billion in the domestic box office in 2024

Key takeaways

  • The top 15 Nollywood movies grossed ₦3.4 trillion combined.
  • The top Nollywood movie in 2024, Everybody Loves Jenifa, accounted for 33.3% of the ₦3.4 trillion.
  • 13 Nollywood movies crossed ₦100 million in earnings.

Nollywood's appeal at the Nigerian cinemas is growing, with the top 15 movies in 2024 earning over ₦3 trillion in 2024. Funke Akindele's Everybody Loves Jenifa was the only movie to cross the ₦500 million mark, reaching ₦1 billion.

While Ayo Makun's 30 Days in Atlanta made history in 2016 as the first Nollywood title to cross the ₦100 million mark in the domestic box office, 13 Nollywood titles reached that feat in 2024. However, Funke Akindele's movies remain the only Nollywood movies to ever gross over ₦500 million at the box office in their release year.

Source:

Nile Entertainment

Period:

2024
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Deadpool & Wolverine was the highest-grossing foreign movie at Nigerian cinemas in 2024
  • Four of 2024's top-grossing movies in Nigeria were not among the top 15 globally, showing a local preference for some movies.
  • The world's highest-grossing 2024 movie, Inside Out 2, underperformed in Nigeria
  • Movie franchises and sequels dominated the list, as only two movies were neither a sequel nor part of a franchise.
  • The top 15 foreign titles at the Nigerian box office grossed ₦3.95 billion, more than the top local title's ₦3.37 trillion.

A Nollywood movie has crossed the ₦1 billion mark for two consecutive years
  • The highest-grossing Nollywood movie has grown from a modest ₦30 million in 2009 to over ₦1 billion in 2023.
  • Since 2016, Nollywood's highest-grossing movie at the local box office has stayed above ₦250 million.
  • Four of Nollywood's highest-grossing movies in the past five years have been produced by Funke Akindele.

Everybody Loves Jenifa was the only movie to gross over ₦1 billion in 2024
  • Nigeria's box office is still dominated by foreign titles, with only four local titles in the top ten movies.
  • A local title, Everybody Loves Jenifa, was the highest-grossing movie, exceeding ₦1 billion.
  • The world's highest-grossing movie, Inside Out 2, did not make it to Nigeria's top ten movies.

18 Nigerian states have cinemas, with Lagos accounting for 54.8%
Nigeria's cinema distribution is strikingly uneven, with Lagos emerging as the undisputed hub, housing 114 out of the country's 206 cinemas. This means more than half (54.8%) of Nigeria's cinemas are in Lagos alone. This dominance highlights the state's strong cultural, economic, and entertainment appeal, making it the go-to destination for film enthusiasts and industry players. Beyond Lagos, Abuja follows distantly with 17 cinemas, constituting 8.2% of the total. States like Edo, Kano, Delta, and Anambra collectively hold significant numbers but remain far behind Lagos. Interestingly, only 18 states are home to cinemas.

Filmhouse Cinemas has the most locations of any cinema chain in Nigeria
Cinemas provide consumers with entertainment outside their homes, allowing them to watch the latest blockbusters with friends on a large screen. They also help movie producers get their films in front of thousands of people. In Nigeria, independent cinemas form the largest group, with names recognisable mostly within the towns where they exist. However, cinema chains are growing. Filmhouse Cinemas has 12 locations in five states, while Genesis Cinemas operates in six states, albeit with fewer locations than Filmhouse Cinemas. Unlike the other top five, Kada Cinemas has no cinemas in Lagos.

Top ten African countries by estimated number of films produced annually
The Nigerian movie industry, mainly financed via public or private funding and international grants, produces the most films in Africa, yearly. Nigeria produced more than double the number of films that the Ghanaian and Kenyan movie industries produce annually.

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