Funke Akindele’s Everybody Loves Jenifa (ELJ) has set a new box office record after earning N206 million in its opening weekend. The film, released on Friday, made a remarkable achievement with a debut gross of N45.22 million, 30% more than her previous film – Tribe of Judah.
Announcing the development today via an Instagram post, local distributor FilmOne Entertainment expressed the feat as a reflection of the love from Jenifa’s fans. “When Jenifa drops, the world stops. 38,000 cinema seats filled, and records officially broken. Big love to our amazing Jenifa franchise fans—you did this! Let’s pull up more numbers,” the distributor wrote.
On its Friday’s opening, Everybody Loves Jenifa had 9,409 admissions which was 539 more than A Tribe Called Judah. The success was impressive considering the fact that the film did not screen at Genesis Cinemas and missed out on a portion of the day at Silverbird Cinemas.
Amidst the miss, the film achieved a notable N16.8 million from advanced screenings. This also includes its international debut across 30 countries, distributed through Nile Group Entertainment to further expand its global reach.
With the present atmospheric shape surrounding the film’s popularity, many have projected Everybody Loves Jenifa to surpass Nollywood’s attendance of 450,000 set by Omo Ghetto in 2010. Also, the film’s remarkable run expressed its ability to appeal to its audience.
The Nigerian Box Office on Saturday confirmed that Everybody Loves Jenifa has shattered all records set by previous films at the Nigerian box office which includes Funke Akindele’s own record in 2023.
“Everybody Loves Jenifa shattered box office records yesterday. It had the biggest opening day for a Nollywood film with ₦45.2M! ELJ drew 9,409 admissions, surpassing ATCJ’s 8,870 despite not screening at Genesis & missing most of the day at Silverbird Cinemas. All of these are outside of the advanced screening. Please note that the final figures could be slightly more,” NBO stated.
While expressing her gratitude to Nigerians for their love and support, Funke Akindele on her Instagram post highlighted that with N87.8 million earned in one day, Everybody Loves Jenifa set a new record for the highest-grossing single day in Nollywood history. By selling 38,353 tickets, the film also recorded the strongest opening weekend of 2024. This has seen the movie set another record for the highest-grossing opening weekend in the industry’s history.
Also commenting on the feat are Odunlade Adekola and singer Folarin Falana (Falz). Odunlade Adekola who reposted Funke Akindele’s post on Instagram thanked God and Nigerians for the success while Falz acknowledged the actress for her good qualities and disclosed that he has never met anyone like her in the Nigerian movie industry.
More Insights on Everybody Loves Jenifa
‘Everybody Loves Jenifa’ is a spin-off of the 28-series Jenifa franchise. The new movie explores fresh challenges for its main character, Jenifa. The film showcases the journey of Jenifa as she navigates through fame, relationships, and personal growth.
A successful businesswoman and social media influencer known for her extravagant fashion and goodhearted yet overbearing nature. Based in Lagos and Accra, Jenifa’s life takes a dramatic turn when a wealthy newcomer, Lobster, moves into her estate and quickly overshadows her community influence with his charitable deeds. Jenifa’s popularity was threatened, causing her jealousy and inadequacy.
The drama escalates when Jenifa and her friends find themselves in a deadly confrontation with a drug baron in Ghana after mistakenly receiving a bag of drugs in their rental.
Co-written by Funke Akindele, Akinlabi Ishola, and Collins Okoh, Everybody Loves Jenifa was also jointly directed by Funke Akindele and Tunde Olaoye. The film blends comedy with life lessons, resonating with audiences both in Nigeria and abroad.
The movie brings back characters from her 2008 debut and a-listers like Patience Ozukwor, Jide Kosoko, D’Banj, Falz, Lateef Adedimeji, Cute Abiola, Omotunde Adebowale David, Nancy Isimie, Layiasabi, Damilo Oni, and Stan Nze.
Also Read: The majesty and messiness of myth: A review of Femi Adebayo’s “Seven Doors”
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