How ‘Behind The Scenes’ crossed N2.5bn to redefine Box Office success

FilmOne Entertainment, West Africa’s foremost distributor of Nollywood and international content, has highlighted the exceptional box office performance of Behind The Scenes, the latest feature from Funke Akindele, following its record-breaking performance across Nigeria and select international markets.

The film has now generated N2,505,882,930 at the box office to date, firmly establishing Behind The Scenes as the highest-grossing Nigerian film of all time in West Africa.

This achievement surpasses Akindele’s previous record holder, Everybody Loves Jenifa, which closed its theatrical run in 2024 with N1,882,549,548, and materially expands the commercial ceiling for Nollywood theatrical releases.

Beyond its domestic dominance, the film has also delivered impressive international performances in the UK, US and Canada, earning around $440,000 in box office. This makes Behind The Scenes the highest-grossing international Nollywood release of all time.

Commenting on the achievement, Kene Okwuosa, Group CEO, Filmhouse Group (FilmOne Entertainment, Filmhouse Cinemas, FilmOne Studios), said: “The performance of Behind The Scenes represents a defining moment for FilmOne Entertainment and for Nollywood’s theatrical business.

These results reflect what is possible when ambitious storytelling is matched with disciplined, globally aligned distribution. We are proud to be scaling African stories in ways that compete credibly on the world stage.”

Importantly, Behind The Scenes marks the first time FilmOne Entertainment has handled the film’s distribution across both Nigeria and all major international markets. In contrast, last year’s releases operated under a domestic-only mandate, with global territories managed separately. This unified approach enabled tighter coordination, stronger market visibility, and more consistent commercial execution across regions.

As the film’s official global distributor, FilmOne Entertainment led a coordinated rollout, aligning release timing, cinema partnerships, and diaspora engagement across Nigeria, the United Kingdom, Canada, and North America.

This integrated execution supported sustained international momentum and positioned the film firmly within cultural conversations beyond Nigeria’s borders.

Ladun Awobokun, Chief Content Officer, FilmOne Entertainment, added: “Behind The Scenes demonstrates how Nollywood stories can travel when supported by intentional strategy and deep market understanding. This performance reinforces our commitment to building durable pathways for African content to succeed at scale.”

Previous box office successes from Funke Akindele, including A Tribe Called Judah (2023) and Everybody Loves Jenifa(2024), established strong billion-naira foundations for the industry. Behind The Scenes builds decisively on that momentum, benefiting from FilmOne Entertainment’s expanded global mandate and surpassing all historical benchmarks to date.

As Nollywood’s international theatrical footprint continues to deepen, Behind The Scenes stands as a clear demonstration of how local storytelling, disciplined distribution architecture, and unified global execution can converge to deliver record-breaking commercial performance, further reinforcing FilmOne Entertainment’s position as a market leader shaping the future of African cinema.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers.

She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay.

She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos.

As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender.

She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies.

Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category.

She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category.

She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations.

Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.

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