Nollywood movie Battle on Buka Street grossed a whopping sum of N67.99 million on New year’s weekend topping the list of movies with the highest weekend gross in Nigeria.
This is according to data from the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN).
According to the data, movies aired in Nigeria’s cinemas grossed a sum of N183.02 million between 30th December 2022 and 1st January 2023. The list was topped by Battle on Buka Street, Avatar: The Way of Water, and Ijakumo: The Born Again Stripper.
The movies had also topped the chart box in the Christmas weekend as Nigerians in their usual fashion during festivities trooped to the cinemas to entertain themselves with blockbuster movies.
Nigerian movie industry: The Nigerian film industry is recognized as one of the largest film producers in the world, contributing about 1.1% to Nigeria’s real GDP and valued at over N780 billion in real terms (2022 estimates).
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- Several Nigerian blockbuster movies have topped the chart in recent years, as more producers invest heavily to produce cinema-worthy movies.
- It has also been a trend in recent times for movie producers around the world to premier cinema movies during festive periods, considering most people have more free time to visit the cinemas for relaxation.
More data: According to CEAN, six Nigerian movies made it to the top 15 movies in the new year weekend.
- A total of N183.02 million was earned from cinema movies over the New Year weekend, compared to the N166.98 million recorded on Christmas weekend.
- Also, seven of the top 15 movies were distributed by Film One Studios. Notably, the top fifteen movies have recorded a cumulative revenue of N1.87 billion since they premiered, with over 681,000 people viewing them.
Below are the top-grossing movies on New year’s weekend in Nigeria
Battle on Buka Street – N67.98 million
Battle on Buka Street, produced by the Nigerian filmmaker Funke Akindele and starring the likes of Mercy Johnson, and Sola Sobowale grossed a sum of N67.98 million on New Year’s weekend, surpassing the N48.21 million recorded in the previous weekend.
- The movie debuted on 16th December 2022 and has raked in a sum of N361.36 million, with over 132,500 viewers in just less than three weeks.
- A further look at the data from CEAN showed that a total of 24,629 people watched the movie during the New Year weekend.
Avatar: The Way Of Water – N41.9 million
Avatar, The Way Of Water, a sequel to the first installment released in December 2009, which was dubbed the highest-grossing movie of all time, raked in a sum of N41.9 million in revenue on New year’s weekend.
- Compared to the previous week, revenue declined marginally from N44.39 million recorded on Christmas weekend. However, the blockbuster has generated a sum of N285.6 million in cumulative revenue.
- Avatar was produced by Disney and distributed by Film One Studios. Notably, the movie has been viewed by 94,402 people in three weeks since it premiered.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – N30.45 million
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a sequel to the 2018 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. The movie was produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Film One in Nigeria.
- Black Panther raked in a sum of N30.45 million on New Year’s weekend, bringing its total cumulative revenue to N956.7 million, with over 343,000 people viewers so far.
- The movie, which was used as a tribute to the deceased Chadwick Boseman, who played the role of the Black Panther in the first sequel, also had the contribution of some Nigerian artists like Tems, Burna Boy, and Fireboy.
Ijakumo: The Born Again Stripper – N29.05 million
Ijakumo, produced by Toyin Abraham grossed a sum of N29.05 million on New Year’s weekend, unable to match the N30.44 million recorded in the previous week, but had over 10,000 people troop to cinemas to watch.
- The movie starred veteran Nollywood actors like Antar Laniyan, Kunle Remi, and Debiie Shokoya amongst others. The movie, which was released on 23rd December 2022 has raked in N137.08 million in cumulative revenue.
- Ijakumo was also distributed by Film One Studios.
Others on the list include:
- Puss in Boots – N9.25 million
- Palava! – N1.16 million
- Olola Aginju – N652,100
- Kamanni – N561,600
- Rising: City of Dreams – N544,182
- Violent Night – N481,606