In January 2026, Behind The Scenes crossed ₦2 billion at the box office — the first Nollywood film ever to do it. Daily Post and BellaNaija both reported it as a first for African film. By July, WithinNigeria was putting the figure at ₦2.7 billion.

It also travelled. Legit and Information Nigeria reported it setting records for a Nollywood release in the UK, Ireland and Canada.

The part people skip

BellaNaija noted something that says more than the record itself: this is not Funke Akindele's first billion-naira film. It is her third. One billion-naira film is a hit. Three is a system — casting, timing, marketing, and an audience that has learned to trust a name on a poster.

That is the thing worth studying. Nollywood has never been short of talent. What it has been short of is repeatability.

My take

I think the ₦2bn number will be beaten sooner than people expect, and I do not think that diminishes it. Records fall fastest when somebody proves the ceiling was imaginary. What she actually broke was not a box office record — it was the assumption that a Nigerian film has a natural spending limit.

The open question is whether the industry learns the method or just celebrates the number.

Tell me

• Have you watched it? Did it earn the ₦2 billion, in your honest opinion?
• Is Funke Akindele the most bankable name in Nollywood right now — or is somebody else quietly closer?
• What is the one Nigerian film you would have bet on and it underperformed?

Figures as reported by Daily Post, BellaNaija, Premium Times, Legit and WithinNigeria. Box office totals vary slightly by source and reporting date.