Funke Akindele has once again rewritten the Nollywood playbook.
Her latest feature, Behind the Scenes, has surged past N1.1 billion at the West African box office just 17 days after release, becoming the fastest film in the region’s history to cross the billion-naira mark.
The milestone extends a string of record-breaking feats for Akindele, who now stands as the only filmmaker to surpass N1 billion three separate times, and the first to deliver three consecutive N1 billion+ hits within a single calendar year.
The project also logged the highest single-day theatrical gross on Boxing Day with N129.5 million.
FilmOne Entertainment, the film’s distributor, confirmed the figures and celebrated the moment across social platforms, calling the turnout “another history made,” while thanking audiences for “showing up, filling cinemas, and carrying this story with love.”
Directed by Akindele and Tunde Olaoye, the drama features a sprawling ensemble cast including Scarlet Gomez, Iyabo Ojo, Destiny Etiko, Tobi Bakre, Ibrahim Chatta, Ini Dima-Okojie, Uzor Arukwe, Uche Montana and Victoria Adeleye. Clocking in at 2 hours and 24 minutes, the film is rated 12A and follows Aderonke “Ronky-Fella” Faniran, a successful real-estate entrepreneur whose relentless generosity forces a reckoning with personal boundaries, self-worth, and the limits of responsibility.
Akindele had earlier disclosed in a video that the production budget exceeded N1 billion, highlighting the scale of investment involved. Reports note that rising production costs have increased pressure on filmmakers to deliver strong theatrical performances, particularly as inflation and consumer spending constraints continue to affect cinema attendance.
Following the film’s nationwide release, Akindele appealed to audiences to refrain from recording or sharing clips from the movie while in cinemas.
The win follows a remarkable opening week, during which the film hauled in over N500 million, the strongest opening frame for any Nollywood title this year, propelled in part by advanced screenings on December 10 and 11 ahead of its nationwide debut on December 12.
Featuring an ensemble led by Scarlet Gomez, Iyabo Ojo, Destiny Etiko, Tobi Bakre, and Uche Montana, the film continues Akindele’s streak of commercial dominance following A Tribe Called Judah and Everybody Loves Jenifa, both of which were billion-naira earners.
The latest success positions Behind the Scenes as 2025’s highest-grossing release to date and further solidifies Akindele’s hold as Nollywood’s top-grossing producer of all time.