Nigerian Box Office sets new record with N2.8bn in December 2024

• Published On: 02 January 2025 at 06:58

In December 2024, the Nigerian box office reached an unprecedented high, generating over N2.8 billion in revenue and selling over 537,000 tickets.

These figures represent the highest single-month gross since December 2019, setting a new industry standard and demonstrating the growing popularity of Nollywood films as well as the resilience of Nigerian cinema.

Leading the box office surge was "Everybody Loves Jenifa," which continued to dominate, grossing N1.035 billion in its third weekend. The film earned N250 million in its final weekend in December, cementing its status as one of Nollywood's highest-grossing productions.

Other notable films that contributed to the month's success include the family-friendly "Mufasa," which grossed N93.8 million in its second weekend, bringing its total to N267 million, and "Alakada: Bad & Boujee," which earned N70.3 million, bringing its total to N205.3 million.

International titles also had an impact, with "Sonic 3" opening to N70.6 million and Disney's "Moana 2" grossing N358.3 million after five weeks.

The standout event was Boxing Day, which sold 47,672 tickets, the highest post-pandemic single-day total and the third-highest in Nigerian box office history, trailing only December 26, 2019 and December 26, 2018.

The average ticket price in December was N5,220, indicating strong consumer spending on cinema. Nollywood's dominance in the month's performance reflects a growing preference for local content, aided by government initiatives such as the N5 billion Creative Fund, which was established earlier this year to finance the film and creative sectors.

With December results pointing to a potential record-breaking year, Nigeria's cinema industry is on track to exceed N10 billion in revenue, indicating double-digit growth and cementing its position as Africa's leading cinema market.

The country's creative economy, which employs over 4.2 million people, is expected to create 2.7 million new jobs over the next five years, with estimates putting the sector's value at $15 billion by 2025.