Wunmi Toriola’s Queen Lateefah, produced and distributed by Cinemax, has turn into considered one of Nollywood’s top-grossing movies of 2024 to this point with N317 million in earnings.
Since its launch on September 27, the movie has captivated audiences throughout Nigeria, driving sustained ticket gross sales and setting new data.
Right here’s a more in-depth have a look at Queen Lateefah’s outstanding efficiency trajectory and what it indicators for Nollywood:
In its debut week alone, Queen Lateefah stormed previous expectations by grossing N100.2 million, setting the stage for a extremely profitable run.
This preliminary surge, as reported by Nairametrics, was buoyed by robust word-of-mouth and an interesting storyline that resonated with Nigerian audiences. By the tip of its first 3 day weekend, the movie had already generated N58 million, securing its spot because the highest-grossing Nigerian movie throughout a non-holiday weekend in 2024.
A timeline of its earnings
Because the weeks progressed, Queen Lateefah continued to construct on this momentum, breaking the N200 million mark inside three weeks of launch.By October 15, the movie had grossed N216 million, putting it among the many highest-earning movies in Nigerian cinema historical past.The film’s constant field workplace pull is attributed to each its mass enchantment and Cinemax’s efficient distribution technique.
Cinemax founder Ope Ajayi highlighted the corporate’s give attention to connecting filmmakers with audiences, noting that Queen Lateefah’s success exhibits the rising urge for food for Nigerian tales.
By the third weekend of October, Queen Lateefah reached N256 million, inching nearer to the elusive N300 million membership. Through the weekend of October 18-20, it pulled in a further N23.3 million, rating simply behind The Rebellion by Omoni Oboli when it comes to field workplace efficiency. This outstanding exhibiting demonstrated Nollywood’s capability to compete with overseas releases, even throughout aggressive screening intervals.
What to know
As of November 3, Queen Lateefah formally crossed the N300 million threshold, grossing a complete of N317 million. This milestone locations the movie amongst Nollywood’s most profitable productions and reinforces the trade’s potential for large-scale industrial success.
Ajayi expressed optimism that the film will proceed drawing audiences, projecting a closing gross of round N400 million by the tip of its run.The film’s spectacular efficiency highlights Nollywood’s rising clout within the West African market, particularly because it contends with worldwide productions. Queen Lateefah is a testomony to the evolving tastes of Nigerian audiences, who’re more and more supporting regionally produced content material. With over 23,000 tickets bought to this point, the movie is anticipated to take pleasure in one other few weeks of stable returns.
Cinemax’s achievements with Queen Lateefah additionally level to a promising future for Nigerian cinema, with plans to develop into international distribution partnerships. The success of Queen Lateefah reinforces the notion that Nollywood is on a path to changing into a dominant drive in Africa’s leisure panorama, capturing the hearts of audiences and setting new benchmarks for Nigerian storytelling.
