Nigerian movie lovers and “Lakatabu” lovers get ready for exciting news! The Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN) has released new data about movie performances in Nigerian cinemas for June 2024. This information shows an interesting trend in the Nigerian film industry.
Throughout the entire month of June, Hollywood movies were the most popular at Nigerian box offices. They consistently earned more money than Nigerian-made films, known as Nollywood movies. This pattern highlights that many Nigerian moviegoers prefer American films over local productions.
However, one Nollywood film did particularly well during this period. From June 21 to June 27, 2024, a movie called “Lakatabu” was the highest-earning Nigerian film. It made almost 65 million Naira at the box office, which is a significant amount. In fact, “Lakatabu” was the second-highest-grossing movie overall during this time, with a total of 64.8 million Naira.
“Lakatabu” is mainly in the Yoruba language, one of Nigeria’s major languages. It was both directed and produced by Odunlade Adekola, who is also an actor. Adekola plays the main character in the movie as well.
The story of “Lakatabu” is quite intense. It follows the main character, Lakatabu, who is an armed robber with magical powers. He causes a lot of fear and harm, terrorizing, kidnapping, and even murdering people. However, the plot takes an unexpected turn when Lakatabu starts receiving threats from his rivals. The film explores the challenges Lakatabu faces, the fear he creates in others, and what happens as a result of his power.
Despite “Lakatabu’s” success, it wasn’t the top-earning movie overall. That honour went to a Hollywood action comedy called “Bad Boys: Ride or Die”. This movie, starring famous actors Martin Lawrence and Will Smith, earned 62.2 million Naira.
The last time a Nollywood movie was the highest-grossing film in Nigeria was back in May 2024. During the week of May 17 to May 23, a movie called “Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti“, directed by Bolanle Austen-Peters, earned almost 47 million Naira.
Three other Nollywood movies also made it onto the list of top-earning films, though they didn’t make as much money as “Lakatabu”. These were “Muri and Ko” (directed by Biodun Stephen), which earned 22.3 million Naira; “Criminal” (directed by first-time filmmaker Dolapo Adigun), which made 4.1 million Naira; and “Offshoot” (directed by Ayeny T. Steve), which brought in 2.7 million Naira.
Several other Hollywood movies were also popular in Nigerian cinemas during this time. These included action and animated films like “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga”, “Inside Out 2”, “The Watchers”, “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes”, and “The Garfield Movie”.
This data from CEAN provides valuable insights into the current state of the Nigerian film industry and the preferences of Nigerian moviegoers.
