Highest-grossing Nollywood films and how Nigeria’s box office is tracked

Which are the highest-grossing Nollywood films, and where do the numbers come from? Funke Akindele’s Behind the Scenes leads Nigeria’s all-time box office chart, followed by her previous two releases. This guide explains how Nigerian cinema takings are counted, lists the current top 10 as of September 2026, and covers what the figures leave out.

By Editorial Team

The short answer

• No. 1: Behind the Scenes (2025), directed by Funke Akindele and Tunde Olaoye. It is the first Nigerian film to pass ₦2 billion at the box office.
• Top three: all Funke Akindele films. Everybody Loves Jenifa (2024) is second and A Tribe Called Judah (2023), Nollywood’s first billion-naira film, is third.
• Who counts: cinema data is compiled through the analytics firm Comscore. It is published by the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN) and by distributors such as FilmOne Entertainment.
• Main caveat: these are gross ticket sales in Nigerian cinemas (and sometimes the wider West African region). They are not adjusted for inflation and they are not profit.

How Nigeria’s box office is tracked

Until 2018, according to the analyst behind the Nigerian Box Office account, interviewed by Black Film Wire, there was no public, verifiable system, and some totals were “pure estimates”. CEAN then partnered with Comscore and started publishing figures in December 2018. In November 2019, CEAN gave Comscore an award for its box office measurement in the region, Comscore announced. At that point the firm measured cinema takings in nine African countries.

The terms match those used in Hollywood:

• Opening weekend: Friday to Sunday.
• Week: Friday to Thursday.
• Cume (cumulative gross): the running total since release.

The same analyst says CEAN has published less often since around 2024, mainly on Instagram. Distributors such as FilmOne now announce many milestones themselves, and independent trackers fill the gaps. For the biggest numbers, look for confirmation from the distributor or CEAN rather than a producer’s social media post.

The highest-grossing Nollywood films: current top 10

The chart below combines figures reported by Nairametrics (citing FilmOne) and the industry site Nollywire, and the publicly maintained all-time list on Wikipedia, which cites trackers. Figures are domestic cinema grosses, not adjusted for inflation, as of mid-2026.

Why is there a range for No. 1? Figures for the highest-grossing Nollywood films can keep changing after release. Nairametrics reported in January 2026 that Behind the Scenes had “officially closed” at ₦2.103 billion. Nollywire and the Wikipedia chart later listed it at about ₦2.75 billion. We have not found a distributor statement explaining the difference, so we show both.

The Funke Akindele effect

One filmmaker dominates the list of highest-grossing Nollywood films. Nollywire notes that since 2021, Funke Akindele has released a film every year that reset the all-time record: Omo Ghetto: The Saga, Battle on Buka Street, A Tribe Called Judah, Everybody Loves Jenifa and Behind the Scenes. Together they fill half of the top 10. Nairametrics reports that her last three films grossed a combined ₦5.39 billion. Behind the Scenes crossed ₦1.1 billion in 17 days and made a record ₦129.5 million on Boxing Day alone.

Toyin Abraham is the other regular name, with Alakada: Bad and Boujee and Oversabi Aunty both in the top 10.

What box office figures don’t tell you

• Gross is not profit. Cinemas keep a share of every ticket, and distributors typically take a fee before the producer is paid. The split in Nigeria is not usually made public. As we explained in our Primetime box office analysis, a big gross does not guarantee a profit. Akindele has said Behind the Scenes cost more than ₦1 billion to make, according to Nairametrics.
• No inflation adjustment. Nollywire, citing FilmOne’s Nigeria Box Office Yearbook, reports that the average ticket price rose from ₦1,238 in 2019 to ₦5,959 in 2025. Recent films therefore climb the chart far more easily than older ones.
• Fewer tickets, more money. The same yearbook data shows total box office rising from ₦6.4 billion in 2019 to ₦15.6 billion in 2025. Admissions fell from about 5.1 million to 2.79 million over the same period.
• Cinema only. Streaming deals, TV rights and special screenings are not included.

Other records worth knowing

Box office records are not only about the top of the chart. Ikenga: The Last Festival, released on 21 August 2026, reached ₦103.4 million per FilmOne and is now the highest-grossing Igbo-language film in West Africa, Business Cabal reports. Nollywire says the Nigerian box office took ₦8.83 billion in the first half of 2026, ahead of ₦7.75 billion in the same period of 2025.

Nigerian box office gets far less global attention than Hollywood re-release records like the Avengers: Endgame Encore run, but the reporting principles are the same.

What to watch

Black Market, which set a Guinness World Record for the largest film-screening audience in Lagos, opens in cinemas on 2 October 2026. Its opening weekend will show whether that crowd turns into ticket sales. December is traditionally the biggest month. Nollywire expects new films from Funke Akindele and Toyin Abraham, plus EbonyLife’s The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives. For the awards side of Nollywood, see how Nigeria picks its Oscar entry. More in our Nollywood and Movies & TV sections.

Sources

• Nairametrics: Funke Akindele ranks No. 1 with ₦5.3bn gross in three years (13 January 2026)
• Nollywire: Nigerian box office nears full reset as 2026 gross hits ₦8.8bn
• Black Film Wire: interview with Nigerian Box Office
• Comscore press release (November 2019)
• Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN)
• Wikipedia: List of highest-grossing Nigerian films (checked 29 September 2026)
• Business Cabal: Ikenga grosses ₦103m