The Story⚡
A Tribe Called Judah shines amidst December competition with more than N220 million grossed in the first week.
Tell Me More
After its debut in 73 cinema locations across Nigeria, A Tribe Called Judah, co-directed by Funke Akindele and Adeoluwa Owu, has shown again that Funke Akindele is indeed a box office queen with the comedy title having gone beyond the N200 million bar in just seven days.
Following her last box office title, Battle on Buka Street, which launched on the 16th of December 2022, Funke Akindele, through her production company, Funke Akindele Network, released A Tribe Called Judah on the 15th of December 2023 to the acceptance of the audience.
The comedy flick follows the story of a family who plans to rob a mall, only to find that armed robbers are already in the mall. Starring Funke Akindele, Jide Kene Achufusi, Boma Akpore, Fathia Balogun, Timini Egbuson, Yvonne Jegede, Tobi Makinde, Geneveva Umeh, Ibrahim Yekini, and a host of others, A Tribe Called Judah had a prelaunch sale of N9.41 million.
In its first weekend, the title minted N113.97 million to displace Afamefuna, directed by Kayode Kasum, from the number one position. However, the title raked in N228.17 million in the first seven days. So far, it has made N237.98 million plus its advanced screening sales.
3 Days – N113.97 million
7 Days – N228.17 million
Having started on this ground, does A Tribe Called Judah stand the chance of outshining its senior titles, Omo Ghetto: The Saga and Battle on Buka Street, to emerge as the highest-grossing title in the history of the Nigerian box office?
Top 5
Last weekend, here is the list of titles that shone well at the Nigerian box office.
5. The Marvels
In its sixth week, The Marvels made N9.28 million last week to push its cume to N137.16 million. It made N4.11 million over the weekend.
4. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom had an advanced screening last weekend with N9.32 million boxed. The title launched at the box office on the 22nd of December.
3. Wonka
Debuted last week, the flick opened with N15.80 million, making N6.71 million in its first weekend.
2. Ada Omo Daddy
Written by Yakubu Olawale and co-directed by the trio of Kazim S. Adeoti, Mercy Aigbe, and Akay Mason, the drama-thriller opened at the box office with N47.69 million. It had a weekend sale of N27.70 million.
1. A Tribe Called Judah
The comedy film opened with N113.97 million in its first weekend and N228.17 million in the first seven days.
Key Background
A Tribe Called Judah is co-directed and produced by Funke Akindele, who’s responsible for the top two box office titles, Omo Ghetto: The Saga (2020) and Battle on Buka Street (2022).
Released after the lockdown that held moviegoers down at their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, Omo Ghetto: The Saga launched at the Nigerian box office to make history as the highest-grossing Nollywood title of all time. The flick displaced The Wedding Party, which had held the number-one spot since 2016. In the first weekend of Omo Ghetto: The Saga, it made a sum of N124.17 million. It would later make N270.31 million at the end of that week. After its entire theatrical run, the film grossed N636.12 million.
While Funke Akindele’s success with Omo Ghetto: The Saga was groundbreaking in the Nigerian film industry, little did anybody know that the domination of the film as the number-one film would not last for as long as its predecessor lasted on the leaderboard.
On the 16th of December, Funke Akindele launched another title, Battle on Buka Street, which she co-directed with Tobi Makinde. With N668.42 million, the title will later become the highest-grossing film in Nigeria. In its opening weekend, it made N43.99 million. However, in seven days, it grossed N86.63 million. Though the figures of this title in its opening week are no match to that of Omo Ghetto: The Saga, it ended up taking the latter’s place as the highest-grossing film in Nigeria.
December’s period at the box office is highly competitive, and the reason for this is not far-fetched. It is the time of the year when moviegoers visit the cinema the most. This is mainly due to the Christmas and New Year holidays. With the season being competitive at the box office, will A Tribe Called Judah continue to hold its momentum and win big at the end of its run?
Malaika by Toyin Abraham debuted on the 22nd of December, and though figures are yet to be released, can the presence of the flick pose as a major contender against A Tribe Called Judah, considering the fact that Toyin Abraham is notable box office icon too?
In Summary
With the performance of Funke Akindele’s latest release in the first week, is it safe yet to predict that A Tribe in Judah will turn out to be the number-one film in Nigeria after its run at the cinema? Well, the next few weeks will be the judge of that.
