Agbara Nla box office: ₦170.6m opening is Nollywood’s biggest outside December

The Agbara Nla box office opening has come in at ₦170.6 million, making Agbara Nla: The Return the biggest Nollywood opening ever recorded outside December. The faith-based remake of a 1993 classic took the figure across its preview screenings and first official weekend. Here are the numbers, where they rank, and why an October opening of this size matters for Nigerian cinema.

By Editorial Team

What we know

• ₦170.59 million opening (REPORTED). Agbara Nla: The Return grossed ₦170.59 million from 28,468 admissions in its opening frame, according to FilmX data for 2 to 4 October 2026 reported by Nairametrics. Distributor Nile Group announced the “₦170.6m+” figure on Monday 5 October, Punch reported.
• Previews did a lot of the work (REPORTED). About ₦71.4 million came from preview screenings held between 25 September and 1 October, according to Nairametrics. Nigerian Box Office (@NGAboxoffice) put the preview total at ₦70 million from 12,134 admissions, which it called the biggest single-day preview gross recorded in West Africa.
• The weekend itself (REPORTED). Friday 2 October brought ₦15.38 million, Saturday ₦30.07 million and Sunday ₦53.70 million, a three-day total of ₦99.15 million from 16,223 admissions.
• Three records claimed (CLAIM, distributor). Nile Group says the film now has the biggest non-December Nollywood opening weekend, the biggest October opening and the biggest opening for a faith-based film.
• Third on the all-time opening list (REPORTED). Both Punch and Nairametrics place it behind only Funke Akindele’s Everybody Loves Jenifa and Behind the Scenes, and ahead of A Tribe Called Judah.

How the Agbara Nla box office compares

Funke Akindele’s two December releases still sit above it. Everybody Loves Jenifa opened to ₦206 million in December 2024, a record at the time, and Behind the Scenes passed ₦200 million in its first three days in December 2025, according to Nairametrics. Agbara Nla is the first film to get close to that level in a month without Christmas crowds, office parties and the “detty December” return of the diaspora.

For readers outside Nigeria, ₦170.6 million is about $128,000 at the official rate of roughly ₦1,328 to the dollar at the start of October. That sounds small next to Hollywood openings, but Nigerian ticket prices are far lower, and admissions are a fairer guide to audience size. More than 28,000 people paid to see the film in its first stretch. Our list of the highest-grossing Nollywood films shows where the record holders finished, and our box office numbers explainer covers what an “opening frame” includes.

One caveat matters here. The “opening” figure includes a full week of paid previews before the official Friday release, so it is not a straight three-day weekend. That is a growing pattern for big Nollywood titles, and it is worth keeping in mind when comparing films.

Why this film found an audience

The original Agbara Nla, a Yoruba-language film by Christian filmmaker Mike Bamiloye’s Mount Zion ministry, was released in 1993 and later in English as The Ultimate Power in 1994, according to Voice of Nigeria. It became one of the defining titles of Nigeria’s Christian film tradition, a world that grew largely outside cinemas, through churches, VHS tapes and, later, YouTube and Mount Zion’s own streaming app.

The new film is a contemporary remake directed by Damilola Mike-Bamiloye and Joshua Bamiloye, both sons of Mike Bamiloye. Mike Bamiloye returns as Isawuru, the powerful herbalist whose hold over the village of Muwonleru is challenged when two Christians, Olaboye and Olatomi, arrive from the city to preach. The cast also includes Aanu Kolade-Abiodun, Remilekun Mosiko, Philip Olubakin, Gloria Mike-Bamiloye and David Kola Okeowo.

That gives the film something most new releases do not have: an audience that already knows the story across two or three generations. Nairametrics describes the result as decades-old intellectual property turning into mainstream cinema demand. The film is classed as a faith-based drama. If you are unsure what age ratings mean for cinema trips in Nigeria, our guide to NFVCB film ratings explains each one.

The competition it beat

The film opened against a busy slate. Punch lists Black Market, Star Lomo, Avengers: Endgame – Encore and Spider-Man: Brand New Day among the titles in Nigerian cinemas over the same weekend. Black Market had already drawn attention for its Guinness World Records screening in Lagos, which we covered in Black Market sets a Guinness World Record.

The Sunday figure stands out. Ticket sales rose from about ₦15 million on Friday to almost ₦54 million on Sunday. Sunday was by far the film’s biggest day. No distributor has published a breakdown of who bought those tickets, so we cannot say how much came from church groups.

What it means for Nollywood

December has long been the month when producers save their biggest films, because spending and cinema traffic peak over the holidays. An October opening of this size gives distributors a reason to rethink that habit. If a film with a clear, loyal audience can open strongly in a quieter month, it faces less competition and has more screens to work with.

It also strengthens the business case for faith-based cinema, which has usually relied on church screenings and online platforms rather than multiplex releases. For background on how the industry got here, read our history of Nollywood.

What happens next

• Second-weekend figures from FilmX and Nigerian Box Office, due after 9 to 11 October, will show how well the film holds once the preview rush is over.
• We will add the running total once the second-weekend numbers are published.
• Nile Group has not announced any international release dates. We will update this story if UK or US cinema dates are confirmed.

More Nollywood coverage: Nollywood.

Photo credits: Featured image: Mike Bamiloye, who returns as Isawuru. Photo: Ogongo TV, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Source. In-article image: The Silverbird cinema building in Lagos. Photo: Kaizenify, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Source.

Sources

• Nairametrics: Agbara Nla hits ₦170.6 million (5 Oct 2026)
• Punch: Agbara Nla grosses over ₦170m in four days (5 Oct 2026)
• Voice of Nigeria: Agbara Nla: The Return debuts nationwide 33 years later (3 Oct 2026)
• Nairametrics: Everybody Loves Jenifa earns ₦206 million opening weekend (Dec 2024)
• Nairametrics: Behind the Scenes grosses over ₦200m in three days (Dec 2025)
• Techpoint Africa: official naira reference rate, 1 October 2026 (₦1,327.68/$)