Ridley Scott’s long-awaited sequel, Gladiator II, has made an impressive mark at the Nigerian box office. The film earned ₦82.05 million over its opening weekend.
Adding ₦17.1 million from advanced screenings, its five-day cumulative gross stands at ₦99.1 million, making it the second-highest opening of 2024.
Only “Deadpool and Wolverine” has surpassed these numbers this year, with a record-setting opening of ₦165.9 million in Nigeria.
While the Marvel film grossed over ₦700 million during its theatrical run, projections suggest “Gladiator II” could achieve at least half of that, with an estimated ₦350 million expected.
Despite upcoming competition from major titles like Disney’s “Moana 2” and Daniel Oriahi’s “A Ghetto Love Story,” “Gladiator II” is poised to remain the top choice in Nigerian cinemas for the foreseeable future.
This year has been a remarkable one for Nollywood and Nigerian cinema overall. Since January, over 935,000 tickets have been sold for Nigerian films, generating more than ₦3.5 billion at the box office. This marks a 46% increase in ticket sales and an impressive 125% rise in revenue compared to the same period in 2023, which recorded 640,411 tickets sold and ₦1.56 billion grossed.
As the yuletide season approaches, expectations are high for December to deliver Nollywood’s biggest box-office returns yet.