Nollywood blockbusters gross N304m in 2016

The Nigerian movie industry better known as Nollywood has never had it so good judging by the rare feats achieved by some productions churned out by industry players in 2016.

It has been a year of surprise box office hits which saw some Nollywood movies out-grossing some Hollywood blockbuster movies at the local box office in a period where Nigerian movies got more spotlight.

Leading the way as the highest grossing Nollywood movie for 2016 is “A Trip to Jamaica”, a movie by popular stand-up comedian, Ayo Makun, popularly known as AY. The movie beat the all-time box office revenues of all the big budget Hollywood and Nollywood titles released in Nigeria in 2016.

The movie grossed over N137 million, smashing the Guinness world record of “30 Days in Atlanta”, a previous movie also produced by AY.

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“Wives on Strike”, produced by Omoni Oboli is another flick that got many talking; the movie reportedly grossed N51 million in 17 days of its cinematic debut, for the first four weeks it was viewed around cinema houses in Nigeria, as over 50,000 people paid their way to see it.

Another movie that got many high with expectations was Kunle Afolayan’s thriller, “The CEO”. It reportedly grossed N60 million but more was expected from the flick which was heralded by a premiere aboard an Air-France flight to Paris, France.

“Wedding Party”, a movie flick by Elfike Collective, grossed N36 million in its opening weekend across cinemas in the country. The box office smash hit features Banky W as Dozie and Adesuwa Etomi as Dunni Coker.

Comedy film, “Brother Jekwu”- a debut movie production by popular actor, Mike Ezuruonye reportedly grossed N20 million in 10 days (a new record by movies in Nigerian cinemas in recent times). The movie is Mike’s first bow as an executive movie producer.

In all, it seemed a good year for Nollywood, which has continued to innovate by the day, though still battling with pirates who flood the market with adulterated copies, and cheating industry players from ripping the fruits of their labor.

And with 2016 almost at an end, expectations are high, as stakeholders and fan alike look forward to the industry surpassing the feat and successes of 2016.

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