The Story⚡
Loving Itohan did not just open. It climbed. The film finished its first weekend at ₦24.2 million, and now the same film is leaving the multiplex and heading outdoors, with a special screening set for Thursday evening at Muri Okunola Park.
Tell Me More
The numbers arrived clean and steady. Across 80 locations and 3,622 admissions, Loving Itohan posted ₦24.2 million between 6 and 8 November. What stood out was the daily climb. Friday’s ₦5.3 million became Saturday’s ₦7.9 million. Sunday then jumped another 39 percent to ₦11 million. That upward line through the weekend is what pushed the film past Agbara Nla: The Return, which still managed a respectable ₦24.0 million of its own and sold slightly more tickets (3,798). The gap that decided first place was just ₦183,499.
Agbara Nla remains a heavy presence. After six weekends, it sits on ₦486.4 million from 81,261 admissions and has already entered the all-time top ten for Nollywood titles. Losing the weekend crown does not erase that run. It simply made room at the top for a newcomer that kept adding admissions as the weekend progressed.
| Weekend gross | Weekend admissions | Total so far | |
| Loving Itohan | ₦24.2M | 3,622 | ₦24.2M |
| Agbara Nla: The Return | ₦24.0M | 3,798 | ₦486.4M |
Nancy Isime’s first outing as executive producer, made with Greoh Studios and NIP Studios and distributed by FilmOne, therefore arrives with early proof of audience interest. The film is still in regular cinema play, yet the team has already organised a different kind of screening for the middle of the week.
Movie Night Moves Outdoors
On Thursday, 12 November, Loving Itohan will be shown at Muri Okunola Park on Victoria Island as part of a “Movie in the Park” evening. The start time is 5 pm. Tickets cost ₦2,500. Guests are encouraged to bring mats, blankets and company. The setting trades fixed seats and air-conditioning for open air, shared space and the Lagos night sky. Cast member Obehi Aburime has been among those publicly sharing the details, turning the outdoor date into an early extension of the film’s first-week momentum.
The combination is unusual in its timing. Most new releases stay inside the multiplex for several weeks before any special presentations appear. Here the park screening sits only days after the opening weekend figures were confirmed. It gives people who may have missed the first cinema shows, or who simply prefer a more relaxed environment, a low-priced chance to see the film while conversation around it is still fresh.
What the Early Run Suggests
An opening that improves each day and finishes first, even by a small margin, usually signals that word of mouth is working in the film’s favour. The fact that Sunday was the strongest day is particularly useful; it suggests the audience that sampled it on Friday and Saturday returned with friends or recommended it. Holding screens in the coming weeks and maintaining that daily growth will determine how far the total climbs. The park event adds another layer of visibility at a moment when many titles are still fighting for attention in a busy November slate.
How the Opening Compares With Love and New Notes & Call of My Life
Two romance films set the standard at the Nigerian box office this year. Love and New Notes opened on Valentine’s weekend with ₦106.5 million, the biggest non-December opening for a Nollywood film in recent memory. Call of My Life opened on May 15 with ₦76.5 million. Both are useful reference points for a film that has just opened in the same genre, so here are the three opening weekends side by side.
| Film | Opening weekend gross |
| Loving Itohan | ₦24.2M |
| Love and New Notes | ₦106.5M |
| Call of My Life | ₦76.5M |
Loving Itohan opened smaller than both, but an opening figure does not determine where a film ends up. Love and New Notes opened on one of the best dates in the cinema calendar, and the Valentine’s weekend lift is part of its number. Call of My Life went on to become the first Nollywood title to record a 20% weekend-on-weekend increase. That shows a film can climb well past its debut once audiences start recommending it. Loving Itohan’s three rising days, from ₦5.3 million to ₦11.0 million, are an early sign to watch over the coming weekends.
In Summary
Loving Itohan has already shown it can grow, and Thursday’s screening at Muri Okunola Park puts that growth in front of a crowd. Past Movie in the Park editions have drawn around 3,000 guests, and a ₦2,500 ticket lowers the cost of trying the film. Audiences who watch together tend to talk about it afterwards, and that talk is what a film still building its run needs. If that carries into cinemas, Loving Itohan could finish between ₦150 million and ₦200 million. Be at Muri Okunola Park by 5 pm on Thursday, November 12, and bring a mat.
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