Behind The Scenes becomes first Nollywood movie to hit N200m on opening weekend in 2025

Funke Akindele’s Behind The Scenes has become the first Nollywood film to hit the N200 million mark on its opening weekend in 2025. The announcement was first made on Monday afternoon by the film’s distributor, FilmOne Entertainment.

Behind The Scenes had its advanced screening on December 10 and 11, before officially opening in cinemas nationwide on December 12. The film was described as a five-time box office opening weekend record holder and the biggest weekend admissions of 2025. It also recorded the biggest weekend admission (34,548) of 2025. 

The statement from FilmOne Entertainment’s Facebook page reads:

“We call her the Queen of Box Office for a reason! Thank you, Nigeria, for showing up, filling cinemas, and spreading the word. Behind The Scenes crossed N200M in just one weekend, broke five opening-weekend records, and became the biggest opening of 2025! It’s your love that made this possible.”

Behind The Scenes features Scarlet Gomez in the lead role, alongside Iyabo Ojo, Funke Akindele, Destiny Etiko, and Tobi Bakre. Others are Uche Montana, Uzor Arukwe, Ini Dima-Okojie, Adebowale ‘Mr Macaroni’, Ibrahim Chatta, Kamo State, and reality TV stars Handi and Wanni Danbaki, among others.

The film is a comedy-drama that spotlights the chaos, ego clashes, and hidden struggles in Nollywood film production and focuses on themes of pressure, healing, and hidden truths. It lights up an ambitious young filmmaker navigating betrayal, ambition, and on-set drama.

In addition, Behind The Scenes touches on broader societal issues like ‘black tax’ and self-sacrifice through characters such as successful entrepreneur Aderonke “Ronky-Fella” Faniran.

As Nigerians cheered the feat, fellow Nollywood artists remarked on the efforts and the milestone. In an X post, Tobi Bakara said, “Thanks to you guys! Opening weekend was good! Let’s make this week even better my beautiful people!”

Funke Akindele’s Behind The Scenes has now dethroned “Iyalode,” which previously held the record of the best opening weekend of the Nigerian box office with N138.41M. 

Also Read: Nigerian box office rakes in ₦573m in October, one of its best months this year.

Behind The Scenes: Funke Akindele in the spotlight yet again 

The latest development has further strengthened Funke Akindele’s footprints in Nollywood. Before the opening weekend, Behind The Scenes’ preview saw N27.2 million, according to the Nigerian Box Office. 

Her December 2024 film, Everybody Loves Jenifa, became Nollywood’s biggest opening weekend of all time, surpassing the earlier record set by A Tribe Called Judah, which opened with N113 million.

Funke Akindele

Everybody Loves Jenifa was on another level as the film saw an admission count of 38,353, including advance screenings, and became the highest-grossing Nollywood film ever at N1.8 billion in Nigeria. The film also raked in additional revenue from international markets.

In addition, the film crossed the N1 billion mark in late December 2024 and continued its cinema run into early 2025, going on to set new box office records across West Africa.