Funke Akindele’s New Film Smashes ₦200m Barrier in First Weekend at Cinemas

Funke Akindele

Nollywood star and filmmaker Funke Akindele has once again dominated the box office, as her latest movie, Behind The Scenes, raked in over ₦200 million during its opening weekend in Nigerian cinemas.

The film’s distributor, FilmOne Entertainment, confirmed that the movie delivered the biggest opening weekend for any Nollywood title released in 2025. According to the company, Behind The Scenes became the first local film this year to cross the ₦200 million mark within its first three days in cinemas.

FilmOne further disclosed that the movie set five opening-weekend records and recorded the highest cinema attendance for a Nollywood film so far in 2025.

Behind The Scenes explores the social issue of black tax and stars Scarlet Gomez in a leading role. The film boasts an impressive ensemble cast that includes Funke Akindele, Iyabo Ojo, Destiny Etiko, Tobi Bakre, Uche Montana, Uzor Arukwe, Ini Dima-Okojie, Adebowale “Mr Macaroni,” Ibrahim Chatta, Kamo State, as well as reality TV personalities Handi and Wanni Danbaki.

The movie enjoyed early screenings on December 10 and 11 before its official nationwide cinema release on December 12.

Celebrating the milestone, FilmOne took to Instagram to applaud Akindele and Nigerian moviegoers, hailing her as the “Queen of the Box Office.” The distributor wrote, “Thank you, Nigeria, for showing up, filling cinemas, and spreading the word. Behind The Scenes crossed ₦200M in just one weekend, broke five opening-weekend records, and became the biggest opening of 2025! It’s your love that made this possible.”

FilmOne also confirmed that the movie is still showing in cinemas across the country.

The latest feat further cements Funke Akindele’s reputation as Nollywood’s box office powerhouse. Her previous release, Everybody Loves Jenifa, had earlier set the benchmark for the biggest opening weekend in the industry, surpassing her earlier hit, A Tribe Called Judah, which opened with ₦113 million.

Everybody Loves Jenifa later went on to become Nollywood’s highest-grossing film of all time, earning over ₦1.8 billion at the Nigerian box office, with additional revenue from international screenings. The film crossed the ₦1 billion mark in December 2024 and continued its strong run into early 2025, redefining commercial success in West African cinema.