FUNKE AKINDELE FILMS TOP BOX OFFICE IN THREE YEARS By Itoro Etukudo

Nollywood actress Funke Akindele’s new movie, ‘A Tribe Called Judah’ has broken the record of the highest-grossing Nollywood film ever.

The film grossed N780 million at the Nigerian box office in 2023 and was released on December 15. It is also the first movie to make a total gross of over N113 million in the first weekend of its release.

Taking to her Instagram page, the actress thanked God and Nigerians for making it the biggest movie of the year.

“Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Nigeria. I am short of words”, she said in her post.

Following her recent achievement, Funke Akindele has maintained a successful three-year sequence of top-grossing films in Nigeria.

Her movie, ‘Omo Ghetto the Saga’ had a total gross of N636 million in 2020, while her 2022 film, ‘Battle on Buka Street’ grossed N668 million.

‘A Tribe Called Judah’ features top actors and actresses, including Nse Ikpe, Timini Egbuson, Juliana Oloyede, Genoveva Umeh, Olamide Owuru, Fathia Balogun, among others.

The Nigerian movie industry has experienced remarkable success in 2023, achieving great feats and gaining global recognition.

‘Ada Omo Daddy’ by Mercy Aigbe is another Nollywood film that has dominated the box office rankings since its premiere. The film has a current gross of N120 million and was released on December 15.

Similarly, Toyin Abraham’s ‘Malaika,’ which was released on December 22, has grossed over N142 million in just eight days. With a total of N52 million, it is the second-highest-grossing film in its first weekend.

Meanwhile, in December 2023, the Nigerian Box office earned over ₦1.65 billion and sold over 461,000 tickets, with about 88 per cent coming from movies released between December 15-31.

According to the Nigerian box office in a post on their official X account on Monday, Funke Akindele’s A Tribe called Judah, Aquaman, Malaika, and Ada Omo Daddy released between December 15-31, generated a cumulative of N1.3 billion, contributing the bulk of the cinema box office earnings for December 2023.