Funke Akindele's new film becomes West Africa's highest-grossing of all time
Funke Akindele has become the first filmmaker to rank No. 1 at the African box office for three consecutive years, with her three films grossing N5.3 billion. Her latest release, "Behind The Scenes" (2025), closed at N2.103 billion, overtaking "Everybody Loves Jenifa" to become West Africa's highest-grossing film of all time.
The film was released under the Funke Ayotunde Akindele Network (FAAN) and distributed by FilmOne Entertainment. This follows her 2023 film "A Tribe Called Judah" (N1.408 billion) and 2024's "Everybody Loves Jenifa" (N1.883 billion). "Behind The Scenes" crossed N1.1 billion within 17 days, becoming the fastest West African film to reach the billion-naira milestone and logging the highest single-day gross at N129.5 million on Boxing Day.
Directed by Funke Akindele and Tunde Olaoye, the 2-hour-24-minute drama features Scarlet Gomez, Iyabo Ojo, Destiny Etiko, Tobi Bakre, Ibrahim Chatta, and Ini Dima-Okojie. The film follows Aderonke "Ronky-Fella" Faniran, a successful real estate entrepreneur. Akindele previously disclosed production costs exceeded N1 billion, highlighting rising expenses for large-scale Nollywood productions.
The achievement comes as inflation, higher ticket prices, and consumer spending pressures make theatrical success increasingly difficult. FilmOne Entertainment confirmed the figures, crediting sustained audience turnout and strong word-of-mouth. Akindele's dominance positions her as Africa's highest-grossing filmmaker, director, producer, and screenwriter of all time.