“Reel Love” Falls Just Short of Historic ₦100 Million Opening as “Alakada” Drops Out of Top 10

Timing Egbuson’s Valentine’s Day release, “Reel Love”, made a strong debut at the Nigerian box office, grossing ₦99 million over its first three days in theaters.

According to Nigerian Box Office on X—corroborated by data from the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria—the film opened with ₦40.5 million on its first day. This places it just behind “Everybody Loves Jenifa” (₦46.3 million) as the highest-grossing Nollywood debut.

For the Valentine’s Day weekend (February 14–16), “Reel Love” ranked second at the box office, trailing only “Captain America: Brave New World”, which led with ₦137.5 million.

However, “Reel Love” narrowly missed a historic milestone. Had it earned just ₦1 million more, it would have become the second ₦100 million opener in the same weekend—an unprecedented feat in Nigerian box office history.

Still, Valentine’s Day releases, including “Reel Love”, contributed to the biggest Valentine’s Day admissions (ticket sales) since 2020.

Meanwhile, “Alakada: Bad and Boujee” has fallen out of the Top 10 after “Den of Thieves 2” added ₦3.5 million in its sixth weekend. This marks the first time since its December release—eight weeks ago—that “Alakada” has been absent from the box office rankings.

Below are the top 10 releases for the February 14 – 16 weekend at the Nigerian Box Office.

1. Captain America: ₦121.7 million (New)
2. Reel Love: ₦99.3 million (New)
3. Summer Rain: ₦16.3 million (Week 2)
4. Everybody Loves Jenifa: ₦13.2 million (Week 10)
5. Something About the Brigs: ₦12.5 million (Week 3)
6. Chhava: ₦10.5 million (New)
7. Love Lockdown: ₦6.1 million (Week 2)
8. Mufasa: ₦5.9 million (Week 9)
9. Love Hurts: ₦4.4 million (Week 2)
10. Den Of Thieves 2: ₦3.5 million (Week 6)