Funke Akindele’s latest movie, Everybody Loves Jenifa, has broken Nigerian box office records after grossing over N1bn within 19 days of its release.
The entertainment company, Film One, made the announcement via Instagram on Monday, where it described Akindele’s milestone as a historic moment for the Nigerian film industry.
The post revealed that Everybody Loves Jenifa, which premiered in cinemas on December 11, is the second movie in 12 months to surpass the N1bn mark, following another of Akindele’s blockbuster hits, A Tribe of Judah.
In its post, Film One highlighted that the movie achieved this feat in the shortest time ever, making Akindele Nigeria’s highest-grossing producer and director.
“This is a massive win! 1 Billion Gang! Thank you Nigeria and Ghana for watching and supporting this movie! This movie has grossed over 1 Billion at the box office!” the post reads.
Also, the Nigerian Box Office via its X (formerly Twitter) account, announced that the film raked in N250m over the past weekend, bringing its total earnings to N1.035bn.
Everybody Loves Jenifa was also recognized as the highest-grossing opening-day film in Nollywood history, earning N45.2m from 9,409 admissions.
Reacting to the achievement on her X account, Akindele, 47, expressed gratitude to her fans in Nigeria and Ghana for their support.
She also encouraged audiences worldwide to continue watching the film. “Thank you all for making this possible. Keep watching and sharing the love,” she wrote.
THE WHISTLER reported that the movie earned $100,000 in cinema revenue in the diaspora during its opening week.
The movie is part of the Jenifa franchise which started in 2008.
The movie’s star-studded cast includes Layi Wasabi, Nancy Isime, Jackie Appiah, Falz, Omowunmi Dada, Chimezie Imo, Patience Ozokwor, and Stan Nze, amongst others.
Funke Akindele Makes N1bn In 19 Days As ‘Everybody Loves Jenifa’ Breaks Record is first published on The Whistler Newspaper