The year Nigerian cinemas took N11.58 billion
Nigeria's cinemas took a record N11.58 billion in 2024, up from N7.3 billion in 2023, according to FilmOne's box office report using Comscore data for CEAN. The year also produced the first Nollywood film to cross N1 billion within a calendar year.
Key points
- Nigerian cinemas took N11.58 billion in 2024, a record, up from N7.3 billion in 2023.
- The figures come from FilmOne's 2024 report, using Comscore data for the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN).
- Admissions rose to 2.7 million, the first rise since 2021.
- Everybody Loves Jenifa closed at N1.88 billion, before a later Funke Akindele film passed it.
What happened
For a long time, Nollywood made its money away from cinemas: discs, television and later streaming. The cinema numbers tell a different recent story. In 2024 there were 102 cinemas and 333 screens in Nigeria, and 24 new cinemas opened in the year, as chains bet that people still want the big screen.
December did much of the heavy lifting. The FilmOne report summary says December alone brought in N2.8 billion, about 24 percent of the whole year. That is why so many big Nigerian films now fight for a December release date.
Claim by claim
Why this label: Figures from FilmOne's 2024 Box Office Report as summarised by Creator Economy IQ. The brief for this story said about N11.5 billion; the reported exact figure is N11.58 billion.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Source chain stated in the report summary. This is the industry's own data route, not an estimate by a single cinema chain.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: All three figures from the FilmOne report summary.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Stated in the FilmOne report summary. Note the film's name is Jenifa; one report summary spells it Jennifer in error.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Speed and closing total reported by ShockNG in its ranking of the Nigerian box office N1 billion club.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
This claim was published as true and later shown to be wrong. We correct it here, in the open — we do not delete it.
Why this label: It was the record holder from 2024, but ShockNG reports Funke Akindele's later film Behind the Scenes closed at N2.76 billion and became the highest-grossing Nollywood film of all time. Older stories that still call Jenifa the all-time record are out of date.
On the ladder: stronger evidence beat the original claim. The correction stays visible — we correct in the open, we do not delete.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- The 2024 total was N11.58 billion, the record at that time, on FilmOne and CEAN data.
- Admissions rose in 2024 for the first time since 2021.
What we don't know yet
- How much of the 2024 rise was higher ticket prices rather than more people attending, beyond the admissions total given.
- Full audited figures for every individual title in 2024, which sit inside the full 97-page report.
Why it matters
A record cinema year changes what Nollywood can attempt. Bigger box office means bigger budgets can be recovered at home, producers depend less on a single streaming deal, and cinema jobs, from projectionists to marketers, grow with the screens.
Update history
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