Funke Akindele’s Behind The Scenes Grosses ₦1.1 Billion in 19 Days

Funke Akindele’s latest Nollywood feature film, Behind The Scenes, has surpassed ₦1.1 billion at the Nigerian box office just 19 days after its cinema debut.

The milestone was announced on Monday by Akindele and FilmOne Entertainment, the film’s distributor. Sharing the news on her X page, the actress and filmmaker expressed gratitude to fans, production partners, and cinema-goers, while also confirming the film’s expanding international screenings.

“Forever grateful to God and my fans. Thank you for the love and support over the years. Big thanks to the distributors, cast, crew, and colleagues,” she wrote, adding that the film is now showing in the UK and Ireland.

FilmOne Entertainment described the achievement as “historic”, listing several records broken by the blockbuster. According to the distributor, Behind The Scenes is now the fastest film in West Africa to cross the ₦1 billion mark. It also posted the highest single-day gross on Boxing Day, raking in ₦129.5 million.

The movie currently stands as the highest-grossing Nigerian release of 2025. With this feat, Akindele becomes the only director to surpass ₦1 billion at the box office on three separate occasions, while also setting a record as the first filmmaker to deliver three consecutive billion-naira films within one calendar year.

Earlier, the film earned ₦512 million within 12 days of release, becoming the fastest Nollywood title to hit the ₦500 million mark in 2025. It had advance screenings on December 10 and 11 and officially opened nationwide on December 12, after recording over ₦200 million in its opening weekend alone.

Behind The Scenes, which explores the theme of “black tax”, stars Scarlet Gomez alongside Funke Akindele, Iyabo Ojo, Destiny Etiko, Tobi Bakre, Uche Montana, Uzor Arukwe, Ini Dima-Okojie, Adebowale “Mr Macaroni,” Ibrahim Chatta, Kamo State, and reality stars Handi and Wanni Danbaki.

The film continues to screen in cinemas across Nigeria and internationally, with its United States release slated for January 9.