Nigerian box office: ‘A Tribe Called Judah’, 3 others lead N1.65 billion in December sales

Nigeria’s box office ended on a high note in December 2023, grossing N1.65 billion with A Tribe Called Judah’ alongside three titles contributing 79% of the revenue.

The announcement was made by the Nigerian box office via X on Monday. Akindele’s movie alongside the other three titles: Aquaman, Malaika, and Ada Omo Daddy released a few weeks before Christmas generated a cumulative of N1.3 billion contributing bulk of the cinema box office earnings for December 2023.

According to the tweet,

• “From 1st – 31st December 2023, the Nigerian Box office earned over N1.65B and sold over 461,000 tickets. About 88% of the business came from the 15th – 31st of December.”

The tweet also provided approximate grosses for the leading blockbusters:

• “A Tribe Called Judah: N780M, Aquaman 2: N280M, Malaika: N142M, Ada Omo Daddy: N120M.” It emphasized that official figures could be higher as some cinemas are yet to report.

What you should know

A Tribe Called Judah and Ada Omo Daddy premiered on December 15, 2023, while Malaika and Aquaman 2 hit cinemas nationwide on December 22, 2023.

Within the initial hours of its release, Funke Akindele’s movie, “A Tribe Called Judah,” emerged as the highest-grossing movie of 2023, pulling in an impressive sum of over N60 million in ticket sales. Concurrently, the captivating film, “Ada Omo Daddy,” also experienced a robust reception, generating over N18.5 million in the first few days following its release.

This cinematic triumph unfolded amid a backdrop of declining cinema attendance in Nigeria, a trend that has persisted over the last five years and was further accentuated by the global pandemic, which disrupted entertainment and outdoor activities.

Nevertheless, during the holiday season, the Nigerian box office in a tweet noted a surge in attendance, stating,

• “We’re seeing attendance levels for this week on par with 2018/2019 levels & with ticket prices significantly higher, this week’s grosses are doing insane numbers.”
• In December, particularly the days leading up to Christmas, cinema admission (attendance) increased to almost pre-pandemic levels.
• For instance, in 2018 between Dec 21-27, cinemas recorded 245,262 admissions. Fast forward to 2022, Dec 23-29 saw a drop in the figures to 184,014 and in 2023, the numbers picked up to 210,756 admissions between Dec 22-28.