Funke Akindele is on her way to occupying the first four highest grossing Nollywood films of all time.
Funke Akindele’s “Everybody Loves Jenifa” Shatters Box Office Records with ₦207 Million Opener
BY Henry-Damian Justice
December 18, 2024
7:00 pm
Funke Akindele’s latest holiday release, “Everybody Loves Jenifa” (ELJ), has made a historic debut at the Nigerian box office.
The highly anticipated spin-off of the “Jenifa” franchise grossed ₦16.8 million in advanced Wednesday and Thursday previews and an unprecedented ₦190.4 million over the weekend, culminating in a record-breaking five-day total of ₦207 million, according to the Nigerian Box Office tracker.
To put this achievement into perspective, ELJ’s weekend gross of ₦190.4 million eclipsed the combined earnings of the next 10 films in the December 13–15 box office rankings. The film also set new records for Nollywood cinema with a ₦45.2 million opening day on Friday—the highest debut day in Nigerian box office history—and an ₦87 million haul on Saturday, the largest single-day gross ever for a Nollywood title.
ELJ’s opening weekend ranks as the second-highest of all time in Nigeria, behind only Marvel’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (₦223 million). Notably, the film surpassed the three-day debuts of several Hollywood blockbusters, including “Avengers: Endgame” (₦189.5 million), “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” (₦126 million), and “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (₦120.5 million).
The film also shattered records for first-day admissions, selling 9,409 tickets on its opening day—surpassing the 8,870 tickets sold by Akindele’s previous hit, “A Tribe Called Judah”. Despite missing screenings at Genesis and partial showings at Silverbird Cinemas, ELJ sold a total of 38,353 tickets during its opening weekend, the highest for any film in 2024.
With this monumental debut, Funke Akindele solidifies her place as a powerhouse in Nigerian cinema. She already holds the top three highest-grossing Nollywood films of all time: “A Tribe Called Judah” (₦1.6 billion in 2023), “Battle on Buka Street” (₦668 million in 2022), and “Omo Ghetto: The Saga” (₦636 million in 2020). Analysts suggest she is well on her way to occupying the top four spots with “Everybody Loves Jenifa”.
The film marks the return of beloved characters introduced in Jenifa’s 2008 debut and features an ensemble cast including Patience Ozokwor, Jide Kosoko, D’Banj, Falz, Nancy Isime, Layi Wasabi, Damilo Oni, and Stan Nze.
“ELJ” is set for a global release across over 30 countries, including the US, UK, Canada, and numerous African nations.