Funke Akindele's 'Behind the Scenes' Becomes First Nigerian Film to Cross ₦2 Billion

Funke Akindele's "Behind the Scenes" has become the first Nigerian film to cross ₦2 billion at the box office, pulling in ₦2,103,039,706 since its December 12, 2025 release and displacing her own "Everybody Loves Jenifa" (₦1.88 billion, 2024) as Nollywood's all-time highest earner.

Co-directed by Akindele and Tunde Olaoye, the film follows Aderonke "Ronky Fella" Faniran, a thriving real estate entrepreneur whose generosity spirals into personal complications she must eventually confront. The ensemble cast includes Scarlet Gomez, Uzor Arukwe, Destiny Etiko, Mr Macaroni, Ini Dima-Okojie, Tobi Bakre, Iyabo Ojo, Uche Montana, Ibrahim Chatta and Victoria Adeyele.

The film's distributor said it had "officially broken and shattered records" on its way to becoming the first Nigerian title to cross the threshold, while also setting a single-day haul of ₦129.5 million on Boxing Day — a mark that underlined how strongly holiday audiences turned out.

The milestone extends a run of box-office dominance for Akindele, who has now held the record for Nollywood's highest-grossing film in consecutive years. In a message to fans, she thanked the audiences who kept returning to cinemas, crediting the milestone to their continued support.

With the film still running in cinemas and earnings continuing to climb, industry watchers say Nollywood's theatrical market — which topped ₦2.26 billion in the first half of 2026 alone — is entering a new phase of sustained growth.

Source: AllAfrica, Pulse Nigeria