Following a record-breaking debut in Nigeria, Michael, the biographical film chronicling the life of music icon Michael Jackson, has officially crossed the ₦300 million mark at the box office.
Michael’s dominance in Nigerian cinemas has significantly pushed Return of Arinzo, which previously dominated the box office to the fourth place, amidst rising competition from new local and international titles.
Now in its second theatrical week, Michael, directed by Antoine Fuqua, has grossed a total of ₦323.4 million, marking a significant increase after its record-breaking opening weekend earnings (N123.2 million).
As a Hollywood title, The Devil Wears Prada also stormed the box office with a strong ₦62.2 million opening debut. This is followed by Nollywood’s Efunroye: The Unicorn by Faithia Balogun, which also newly debuted at the box office, grossing N29.5 million.
From the Nigerian box office statistics, Hollywood titles continue to dominate capturing Nigerians’ preferences for foreign titles against local ones.
Particularly, the dominance of Michael and The Devil Wears Prada proves that nostalgia and legacy elements can turn a film into a cultural moment, something both films ride on.
According to The Nigerian Box Office, these are the Top Ten Movies of the week (1st- 3rd May)/ shared as of May 5th.
- Michael: ₦130.7M | ₦323.6M (Weekend 2)
- The Devil Wears Prada: ₦57.3M | ₦62.2M (New)
- Efunroye: ₦29.5M |(New)
- The Return of Arinzo: ₦12.3M | ₦333.9M (WK 5)
- Lee Cronin’s The Mummy: ₦10.2M | ₦67.7M (WK 3)
- You, Me & Tuscany: ₦8.3M | ₦104.8M (WK 4)
- The Super Mario Galaxy: ₦7.3M | ₦111.2M (WK 5)
- Animal Farm: ₦5.2M | (New)
- Segilola: ₦5.2M | ₦6.5M (New)
- Trade by Barter: ₦3.8M | ₦26.2M | (WK 3)