Women Are the New Game Changers in Nollywood

Yesterday I was at the Glover Memorial Hall on the Lagos Island, Lagos, Nigeria on Wednesday afternoon,  JULY 19, 2023.

I met with some of the leading key members of the Women in Film and Television International (WIFTI) in Nigeria who are major stakeholders in Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry who have been committed in the overall capacity development of the film and TV industry since the 1980s to date.

We discussed the Big Picture of the future of the Nigerian film industry in view of the great prospects.

The female filmmakers in Nigeria have produced the most highest grossing movies in Nollywood since 2010 to date. The most recent movies include the following:

Battle on Buka Street (2022): (₦668,423,056) by Funke Akindele.

Omo Ghetto: The Saga (2020): ₦636,129,120 by Funke Akindele.

The Wedding Party (2016): ₦452,288,605 by Kemi Adetiba.

Ijakumo (2022) ₦278,496,384 by Toyin Abraham

King of Boys (2018): be  ₦244,775,758 by Kemi Adetiba

View the complete list of the highest-grossing Nigerian films  on Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_Nigerian_films

The highest grossing movies have been acquired by Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and other top OTT streaming services in the world.

These leading women making fantastic movies also have some of the best film and TV studios and film schools in Nigeria.

These outstanding women are changing the narratives of stereotypical views of women in Nollywood in the sociocultural, socioeconomic and sociopolitical perspectives on the Nigerian society.

More details will be published in the third edition of the NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series focusing on the notable Nigerian female filmmakers in Nigeria and the Diaspora and the most powerful women in Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry.

- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,

Publisher/Editor,

NOLLYWOOD MIRRORED® Series

Omo Ghetto: The Saga, The Highest Grossing #Nollywood Movie of All Time So Far

 

Omo Ghetto: The Saga, The Highest Grossing #Nollywood Movie of All Time So Far

Omo Ghetto: The Saga also known as Omo Ghetto 2[2] is a 2020 Nigerian gangster comedy film co-directed by Funke Akindele and JJC Skillz.[3] The film stars Funke Akindele, Chioma Akpota, Nancy Isime, Eniola Badmus, Bimbo Thomas, Deyemi Okanlawon and Mercy Aigbe in the lead roles. This was the second film in the Omo Ghetto franchise and it was also the sequel to the 2010 trilogy film Omo Ghetto

The movie grossed over ₦189 million in the opening week and it historically became the first Nollywood film ever to gross over ₦99 million in its opening weekend surpassing the previous record set by The Wedding Party 2. In its second week, the movie continued breaking box office records by grossing over ₦132.4 million and firmly staying at the top of the Nigerian box office and bringing its 2-week gross to a record breaking ₦322 million and placing it as the fourth highest grossing Nigerian movie of all time.

In its third week, despite seeing a drop of 43% from the previous week, Omo Ghetto still topped the box office and grossed ₦75.4 million bringing its total cumulative to ₦398.5 million just after three weeks. Omo Ghetto was so popular that it accounted for about 65% of the box office in Nigeria.Omo Ghetto kept dominating the Nigerian box office, raking up ₦45.9 million to top the box office. It brought the cumulative box office figure to ₦444.5 million placing it as the second highest grossing Nollywood film of all time after just four weeks, Omo Ghetto the saga is currently the highest grossing Nigerian movie of all time with ₦468,036,300 just over a month 

Omo Ghetto continued dominating the box office in its fifth week grossing ₦35.7 thus bringing its cumulative to ₦480.5 million and becoming the highest grossing Nollywod movie of all time despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The film continued to extend its record by becoming the first Nollywood movie to stay six consecutive weeks at the top of the box office, grossing an additional ₦31.5 million. It also historically became the first ever Nigerian film to gross ₦500 million in Nollywood box office.

The film remained top at the box office in its seventh week, grossing an additional ₦27.3 million.bringing its cumulative to ₦539.6. Omo Ghetto topped the box office in its eighth, ninth and tenth week respectively becoming only the second movie in English speaking West Africa to cross the ₦600 million mark after Black Panther.

Brown Sugar: The Highest Grossing Film by a Nigerian Filmmaker

 

The Highest Grossing Film by a Nigerian filmmaker is "Brown Sugar" of 2002, an American romantic comedy  written by Michael Elliott and Rick Famuyiwa, directed by Famuyiwa, and starring Taye Diggs and Sanaa Lathan.
It grossed US$28, 316, 451.

Famuyiwa is a Nigerian-American director, producer and screenwriter of outstanding films,  including The Wood (1999), Brown Sugar(2002), Talk to Me (2007), Dope (2015), and Confirmation (2016).