The Nigerian box office is off to a sluggish start in 2025, following the record-breaking December 2024 that saw earnings peak at ₦2.8 billion.
According to data from the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN), cumulative revenue from the top 10 films between January 3 and January 9 dropped to ₦600 million—a significant 48% decline from the previous week’s ₦1.16 billion.
Ridley Scott’s *Gladiator II* saw the steepest drop, with earnings plummeting 78.54% from ₦4.6 million to just ₦987,000 in its eighth week. Similarly, Paramount’s *Sonic the Hedgehog 3* experienced a 63% drop in its second week, sliding from ₦93.5 million to ₦34.6 million—a concerning dip for a new release.
Disney’s *Mufasa: The Lion King*, a prequel to the 2019 remake of the animated classic, fell 49.11% from ₦187.08 million to ₦95.2 million, though it edges closer to the ₦500 million cumulative milestone.
Indigenous films showed slightly better resilience. Peter Sedufia’s *One Night Guest* dropped 63.64% from ₦19.8 million to ₦7.2 million in its second week, while Funke Akindele’s *Everybody Loves Jenifa* saw a 46.7% decline, earning ₦263 million compared to last week’s ₦494 million. The film was recently crowned the highest-grossing Nollywood movie of all time, with ₦1.545 billion as of January 15.
Other local titles, such as *Alakada: Bad and Boujee* and AY’s *The Waiter*, also struggled, with declines of 41% and 41.35%, respectively.
The drop in ticket sales coincides with schools resuming and offices nationwide returning to full operations on January 6, a pattern expected to continue throughout the month.
Tags:Everybody Loves Jenifa, Funke Akindele, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Mufasa: The Lion King, Alakada: Bad and Boujee, The Waiter