The Nigerian box office has grossed over N5 billion within the first seven months of 2024, setting an ambitious target of N10 billion by the year’s end.
This promising outlook is based on data released by the official Nigerian box office on July 20, 2024.
The report highlights that cinema tickets have sold at an average price of N3,900, contributing significantly to this impressive revenue.
Despite macroeconomic challenges impacting consumer purchasing power, cinema admissions have remained strong, with 1.3 million tickets sold so far. However, this figure suggests a potential plateau compared to the 2.6 million admissions recorded in 2023.
In the first quarter of 2024, TheWitness reported a substantial improvement in ticket sales revenue, reaching N2.25 billion compared to N1.5 billion in the same period in 2023. This growth shows the resilience of the Nigerian box office amidst economic uncertainties.
Hollywood and Nollywood productions have both contributed to this success, with several titles achieving notable box office results. For instance, “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” has grossed N408 million. Although Q1 data showed that Nollywood films dominated the box office, accounting for 56% of the total revenue.
The top 15 movies of 2024, including some carryovers from 2023, have significantly boosted overall revenue.
Dominating the box office is actress Funke Akindele’s “A Tribe Called Judah,” which grossed N609.1 million in 2024 alone with 160,326 admissions. Other high-grossing films include “Bad Boys 4,” which premiered on June 7, 2024, and has since recorded N408.8 million with 89,839 admissions. Kayode Kasum’s “Ajosepo” raked in approximately N256.6 million based on 69,903 admissions. Yoruba movie actress Eniola Ajao’s producer debut in conjunction with Anthill Studios for “Ajakaju: Beast of Two Worlds” made N252.8 million, garnering 72,410 admissions before premiering on Amazon Prime.
The list continues with titles such as “Godzilla X Kong” with N244.4 million and 61,180 admissions, “Aquaman 2” with N243.5 million and 61,966 admissions, “Dune 2” with N183.8 million, “Kingdom…Apes” with N170 million, “Beekeeper” with N169.4 million, “Malaika” with N158.2 million, “Lakatabu” with N156.6 million, “Funmilayo RK” with N156.6 million, “Furiosa” with N147 million, “All is Fair in Love” with N131.5 million, and “Muri & Ko” with N120.4 million.
Nigeria’s box office generated a cumulative revenue totalling N19 billion over the past three years. This was attributed to a combination of prolific film releases and a surge in ticket sales nationwide between 2021 and 2023.
The box office revenue captures the gross earnings of Nollywood titles over the last three years from ticket sales. In 2023 alone, the Nigerian box office amassed N7.24 billion, following N6.94 billion in 2022 and N4.74 billion in 2021, aggregating approximately N19 billion.
Despite a slight dip in total admissions by 16.6% in 2023, the average ticket price saw a significant upswing of 27% compared to the previous year, reaching N2,759.
