Funke Akindele’s latest film, Behind the Scenes, has recorded more than N200 million in box-office revenue during its opening weekend, making it the highest-grossing opening of 2025 so far, according to figures released by FilmOne Entertainment, the film’s West African distributor.
The film, which opened in cinemas on December 12, achieved admissions of 34,548 within its first weekend of December 12 to 14, 2025, setting several opening-weekend benchmarks in the Nigerian film market.
FilmOne said the title broke five opening-weekend records, including the highest admissions recorded in a single weekend this year.
Behind the Scenes had already built momentum ahead of its general release. Advance screenings generated N27.2 million, which distributors described as the highest advance-screening revenue recorded for a Nollywood production. The film also screened earlier in the United Kingdom, where it posted strong ticket sales. According to figures shared by the production team, the UK premiere recorded over 1,550 admissions and sold out multiple screens.
Directed by Funke Akindele and Tunde Olaoye, the drama features a large ensemble cast, including Destiny Etiko, Ibrahim Chatta, Ini Dima-Okojie, Iyabo Ojo, Tobi Bakre, Uzor Arukwe and Victoria Adeleye. The film has a runtime of two hours and 24 minutes and is rated 12A.
The story follows Aderonke “Ronky-Fella” Faniran, a successful real estate entrepreneur whose generosity toward others gradually comes at a personal cost, raising questions around self-sacrifice, boundaries and personal responsibility. The film is currently showing in major cinema locations across Nigeria and Ghana, including Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna and Accra.
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. In a public statement, she warned that such actions amount to piracy and could undermine the film’s commercial performance. The appeal reflects ongoing concerns within the Nigerian film industry over revenue losses linked to illegal distribution.
Akindele’s box office dominance was firmly established at the close of 2023 with A Tribe Called Judah. Released during the Christmas season, the family drama went on to become the highest-grossing Nollywood film at the time, crossing the N1 billion mark in cinemas.
By 2024, her movie Everybody Loves Jenifa went on to gross N1.8 billion in West Africa box office. This is besides her other major hits like Battle on Buka Street, as well as Omoghetto The Saga(2022), which broke box office records.