Entertainment

Top 10 Highest Grossing Movies By Funke Akindele

Funke Akindele also popularly known as Jenifa is a Nigerian actor, Filmmaker, producer, and director. She is one of the highest-grossing directors and the second director to gross over a billion naira at the Nigeria box office. Prior to her directorial debut in 2019, Funke was a prominent actor starring in numerous movies such as the iconic Jenifa (2008) which brought her to stardom. In order to recognize all these accomplishments in the industry, we have compiled a list of the top 10 highest-grossing movies by Funke Akindele.

Published

6 months ago

November 22, 2023

Christianah Oyewole

Top 10 Highest Grossing Movies By Funke Akindele

1. Battle on Buka Street- ₦668,423,056

The Nigerian comedy-drama film Battle on Buka is the highest-grossing Movie by Funke Akindele and the highest-grossing Nigerian movie of all time. The film was directed by Funke Akindele and Tobi Makinde. The film is jointly produced as a collaboration between Funke Ayotunde Akindele Network (FAAN) and FilmOne Studios. It was released on 16 December 2022 and opened to extremely positive reviews from critics.

It became the second highest-grossing Nigerian film of the year 2022 just behind Brotherhood grossing about ₦200,087,222 at the box office. The film surpassed Avatar: The Way of Water as the highest-grossing film in Nigeria during the Christmas weekend grossing almost ₦50 million at the box office. The film also grossed ₦26 million at the box office on 25 December 2022 coinciding with Christmas making it the highest-grossing Nigerian film on a single day in 2022.

The theatrical run for the film came to an end on the 13th of April 2023, after 17 weeks at the box office with a gross box office of ₦668,423,056. Battle on Buka Street became the highest-grossing Nigerian film of all time displacing Omo Ghetto: The Saga.

2. Omo Ghetto: The Saga- ₦636,129,120

Omo Ghetto: The Saga also known as Omo Ghetto 2 is a 2020 Nigerian gangster comedy film co-directed by Funke Akindele and JJC Skillz. This was the second film in the Omo Ghetto franchise and it was also the sequel to the 2010 trilogy film Omo Ghetto. The film had its theatrical release coinciding with Christmas on 25 December 2020 and was opened to extremely positive reviews from critics.

The film is the second highest-grossing movie by Funke Akindele. It became a box office success and surpassed Fate of Alakada as the highest-grossing Nigerian film for the year 2020. As of 26 January 2021, when the film grossed ₦468 million at the box office it surpassed the record of the 2016 film The Wedding Party to become the highest-ever grossing film in the Nigerian film industry. Omo Ghetto topped the box office in its eighth, ninth and tenth week respectively becoming the second movie in English-speaking West Africa to cross the ₦600 million mark after Black Panther

3. Chief Daddy- ₦387,540,749

Chief Daddy is a 2018 Nigerian comedy-drama film directed by Niyi Akinmolayan, written by Bode Asiyanbi, and produced by Mosunmola Abudu and Temidayo Abudu, which was released in December 2018. This highest-grossing movie by Funke Akindele starred popular Nollywood actors and actresses including Funke Akindele, Kate Henshaw, Nkem Owoh, Joke Silva, Patience Ozokwor, Richard Mofe Damijo, and Racheal Oniga.

Chief Daddy was released in Nigeria on December 14, 2018, and in the Netherlands on March 15, 2019, via Netflix. The film was premiered at the Oriental Hotel in Lagos, with top Nollywood movie stars in attendance. Chief Daddy grossed ₦387,540,749.

4. Your Excellency- ₦186,340,948

Another highest-grossing movie by Funke Akindele is Your Excellency which is a 2019 Nigerian political satire drama comedy film written and directed by Funke Akindele on her directorial debut. The film stars Akin Lewis and Funke Akindele in the lead roles. The film had its theatrical release across 50 theatres on 13 December 2019 and opened to positive reviews from critics. The film became a box office success and became the fourth highest-grossing Nigerian film for the year 2019.

The film grossed ₦17.5 million in its first two days and became the fourth highest-grossing Nollywood film for the year 2019 with ₦105.5 million. Your Excellency grossed ₦186,340,948 in total.

5. A Trip to Jamaica- ₦180,264,964

A Trip to Jamaica is a 2016 Nigerian comedy-drama film directed by Robert Peters starring Ayo Makun, Funke Akindele, Nse Ikpe Etim, and Dan Davies. The film tells a story about the adventures of a newly engaged couple in their relatives’ residence outside Nigeria, and how the secrets of their host led to the eventual breakup of their union amidst the culture shock of the new country and living with upper-class citizens. Though a huge box office success, breaking the record set by 30 Days in Atlanta for the highest-grossing Nigerian film, it received mainly mixed to negative reviews from critics.

In November 2016, the film was reported to have grossed 168 million naira, breaking the previous record set by 30 Days in Atlanta. It also broke records for the first film to hit 35 million in the first weekend, the first film to hit 62 million in its first week, the fastest film to gross 100 million (17 days), and the fastest film to gross 150 million in six weeks.

6. Isoken- ₦93,697,726

Isoken is a 2017 romantic comedy or romantic drama film written and directed by Jadesola Osiberu (in her directorial debut). The film stars like Dakore Akande, Joseph Benjamin, Funke Akindele and Marc Rhys.

The film was produced by Tribe85 Productions and distributed by Silverbird Distributions in Nigeria and Evrit Film in the UK. It premiered in the United Kingdom on 24 May 2017 at the West End’s Cineworld in London and then in Nigeria on 16 June 2017 at the Landmark Event Center, Victoria Island, Lagos. The movie is one of the creative industry projects under the NollyFund loan scheme supported by the Bank of Industry.

7. Moms At War- ₦65,278,052

Moms at War is a 2018 Nigerian comedy-drama movie directed by Omoni Oboli. It stars Funke Akindele as well as Michelle Dede, the former of whom won an award for her role as Best Actress in a Comedy (Movie/TV Series) at the 2020 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards.

The film is a collaboration between Inkblot, FilmOne, and Dioni Visions. It premiered in August 2018 at the Filmhouse Cinemas in Lekki, Lagos. It was released on August 17, 2018.

8. Who’s The Boss- ₦38,559,547

Who’s The Boss is a 2020 Nigerian romantic comedy film produced, written, and directed by Chinaza Onuzo (Naz Onuzo) on his directorial debut. The film stars Sharon Ooja, Funke Akindele, and Blossom Chukwujekwu in the lead roles. The film was premiered on 16 February 2020 in Lagos. The film’s theatrical release was on 28 February 2020 and opened to positive reviews becoming a box office success.

9. The return of Jenifa- ₦35,000,000

The Return of Jenifa is a 2011 Nigerian comedy-drama film. The film was produced by Funke Akindele, who was also a titular character, reprising her role from the prequel, Jenifa (2008). It was directed by Muhydeen Ayinde. The Return of Jenifa is one of the highest-grossing movies by Funke Akindele in her start-up days.

The Return of Jenifa which was shot both within and outside the country features an impressive cast of both music and movie stars such as Eldee the Don, Banky W, Denrele, Antar Laniyan and other top Nigerian Stars.

10. Maami- ₦11,928,600

Maami (My Mother) is a 2011 Nigerian drama film produced and directed by Tunde Kelani. It is based on a novel of the same name, written by Femi Osofisan, and adapted to screen by Tunde Babalola. It stars Funke Akindele as Maami, along with Wole Ojo and Olumide Bakare. Though the film was a commercial failure, it was generally met with positive critical reviews.