Nollywood actress and filmmaker Funke Akindele has once again proven her dominance in the Nigerian film industry, as her latest film release, Behind The Scenes, stormed Nigerian cinemas with a record-breaking opening weekend. The film grossed over ₦200 million just during its debut weekend, setting the highest benchmark for Nollywood this year.
According to the movie’s distributor, FilmOne Entertainment, Behind The Scenes achieved the biggest opening weekend of the year, becoming the first Nollywood film in 2025 to surpass the ₦200 million mark during its first run. They also revealed that the movie shattered five opening-weekend box-office records and recorded the highest weekend admissions so far this year.
The achievement was announced on FilmOne’s official Instagram page, where the company hailed the filmmaker as the “Queen of the Box Office,” applauding Nigerian audiences for their support. The post conveyed thanks to the theatergoers for filling up seats across the country and their positive reviews that drove more watchers to the cinemas.
The film, released on Friday, December 12, had advanced screenings on December 10 and 11, which undoubtedly contributed to its massive debut audiences. Since the release, Behind the Scenes continues to rack up its audience numbers across Nigeria’s major cities.
Behind The Scenes, both directed and produced by Funke Akindele, explores themes of black tax and elaborates on financial and emotional pressure placed on successful individuals by extended family responsibilities. This relatable storyline strikes a perfect balance between humor and the dramatic, a formula that the filmmaker has seemingly mastered throughout the years.
The film also boasts a star-studded cast led by Scarlet Gomez, who delivers an impressive performance as the lead, supported by an ensemble of Nollywood icons, including Iyabo Ojo, Destiny Etiko, Toby Bakre, Uche Montana, Uzo Arukwe, Ini Dima-Okojie, Adebowale ‘Mr Macaroni’, Ibrahim Chatta, and Kamo State, as well as reality TV stars Handi and Wanni Danbaki.
FilmOne Entertainment commented on the performance on opening weekend as historic, adding that the film had recorded five box office milestones within the time period. The distributor confirmed that the film remains in theaters across the country, encouraging those who haven’t seen it on the big screen yet to do so.
Funke Akindele’s dominion over the Nollywood box office is not a recent development. Her previous work, Everybody Loves Jennifa, went down as the biggest box office opening in Nollywood history, surpassing her own previous record set by A Tribe Called Judah, which debuted at ₦113 million.
Everybody Loves Jennifa went on to become one of the highest-grossing Nollywood films of all time, earning over ₦1.8 billion at the Nigerian box office, with additional revenue for international markets. In 2024, the film passed the ₦1 billion mark, continuing screening into early 2025, drawing massive crowds, and setting up a new standard for West African cinema.
With Behind The Scenes having set the benchmark for 2025, the consistency of her box office runs has established her as one of Nollywood’s most influential filmmakers.
