The Story⚡
Despite the tight competition faced at the box office, Orisa shines with N100 million.
Tell Me More
So far, 2023 has been a fantastic year for Hollywood but not as much for Nollywood titles that have made a theatrical run. As it stands, the Nigerian title, Orisa, produced by Odunlade Adekola is the only domestic product that has been able to make a N100 million ticket sales breakthrough.
3 days – N27.58 million
7 days – N40.86 million
10 days – N60.04 million
14 days – N69.01 million
17 days – N82.82 million
21 days – N89.14 million
24 days – N97.43 million
28 days – N101.45 million
Launched on the 21st of July, the epic title was released in the midst of serious competition, as internationally acclaimed and anticipated titles, Barbie and Oppenheimer, were also released the same weekend as Orisa.
In its first weekend, the Yoruba title opened with N27.58 million. It later made N40.86 million in its opening week. That week, it was the third movie at the cinema, after Barbie (N40.86 million) and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (N50.82 million). Oppenheimer was the fourth title with N26.19 million.
In its second weekend, Orisa made N19.17 million. It was still the third title at the cinema.
In its third week, it made N13.81 million during the weekend and grossed N20.03 million throughout the week. At this point, it had made a gross cume of N89.14 million, though it fell to number four at the box office. This was because another title, Meg 2: The Trench, launched at the box office that week. The title made N33.07 million that week to rank as the second title on the week’s leaderboard. Barbie was still in the first position. It raked in N37.65 million. In its fourth weekend, Orisa boxed N8.29 million.
Directed and produced by Odunlade Adekola, the title stars Femi Adebayo, Odunlade Adekola, Deji Olofaina, Eniola Ajao, Segun Ogungbe, Ireti Osayemi, Kemi Afolabi, Woli Agba, Shaffy Bello, Jide Kosoko, Ayo Mogaji, Dele Odule, Ireti Osayemi, and Ibrahim Yekini.
The movie tells the story of a rogue king, who has lost his respect for men and the gods. He has to fight to keep his kingdom when a terrorist he once struck a deal with returns to take it from him.
Tangent
It’s the eighth month in 2023 already, and Orisa remains the highest-grossing Nollywood title to have been released at the Nigerian box office this year. Other notable titles that have graced the box office this year include The Kuju’s Again, Domitilla, Big Love, Love in a Pandemic, and so on.
Last year, only four Nollywood titles could cross the N100 million bar. They are Brotherhood (N328.92 million), King of Thieves (N320.80 million), Battle on Buka Street (N291.59 million), and Ijakumo (N104.47 million).
However, only one of these titles, King of Thieves, released on the 8th of April, had crossed the bar by this time in 2022. After its theatrical run at the box office, the title made a sum of N320.80 million.
In the first weekend of the picture, N42.97 million was made, while N69.23 million was grossed in seven days. The title joined the N100 million club in its second week after grossing N76.79 million that week. By this week, it had made a gross cume of almost N200 million.
Interestingly, King of Thieves and Orisa are both epic Yoruba pictures. Does this mean that this genre has come to stay for good with the box office audience?
Top 5 Movies This Year
1. Orisa
2. The Kujus Again
Released on the 21st of April, the title is a sequel to Introducing the Kujus (2020). The film follows the story of the Kujus as they gather at a hotel resort for the traditional wedding of Mauyon and Lily. However, things start to take a different turn as people and money begin to get missing. The film grossed N53.53 million.
3. Big Love
The movie tells the love story of Adil and Adina. It was released on the 28th of June. It grossed N48.34 million after its stay at the box office.
4. Love in a Pandemic
This romantic title follows the story of how two strangers, who meet through a wrong phone call, become lovers during the historic COVID-19 lockdown. It was released on the 10th of February, and it made a sum of N46.47 million.
5. Domitilla
The remake of the 1996 movie of the same title tells the story of four prostitutes who have to find a way to survive after meeting themselves at a crossroads. The title was released at the box office on the 7th of April. It grossed N45.11 million.
Competition Ahead
Despite the fact that Orisa has been able to break the jinx and gross over N100 million in the midst of a Hollywood competition, it would have made far more than it has made if the competition isn’t this serious.
With Barbie, which at the moment is dubbed the number one movie in the world, the competition still stands ahead for Orisa. Since its debut, Barbie has maintained the number one spot at the Nigerian box office. It does not seem as though Orisa has any chances against it.
Similarly, with the arrival of Meg 2, the competition became tightened.
The title also has Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, launched on the 11th of August as a competitor. On the weekend of its release, the comedy sci-fi opened with N5.86 million
Similar Gauging
As a Yoruba epic title, only one movie comes to mind as a similar genre, King of Thieves by Femi Adebayo. Directed by Adebayo Tijani and Tope Adebayo, the first-of-its-kind movie grossed N320.80 million at the box office.
Though Orisa shares similarities with King of Thieves, it is not pessimistic to say that the former cannot surpass the latter in terms of the figures it turns. This is due to many factors.
One, Orisa is faced with a lot of major competitors that stand against its chances of grossing even N200 million.
Also, King of Thieves was released at a point when it enjoys two holiday seasons. Released on the 8th of April, Easter was on the 17th of April while Eid al-Fitr that year was on the 2nd of May. The movie enjoyed the holiday breaks as ticket sales during those seasons were on the rise. Moviegoers were able to come out with their families to have fun times at the box office. The case is different for Orisa.
In Summary
While Orisa still shines at cinemas, we look forward to seeing how it will perform in the future. For now, nothing has been said about which streaming platform it will go to after its theatrical run.
