Funke Akindele’s Everybody Loves Jenifa rakes in $100k in diaspora sales

• Funke Akindele’s latest movie, Everybody Loves Jenifa has hit another milestone and this time it is from its international audience.
• The cinema movie has garnered about $100,000 in sales while making history at it.
• This gross has been achieved in less than 2weeks since its release.

Funke Akindele has made history with her latest film, Everybody Loves Jenifa, becoming the first Nollywood movie to surpass $100,000 in diaspora sales.

The movie, part of Jenifa franchise, debuted in cinemas on December 13 and has been smashing records ever since.

The film recorded the biggest opening weekend for a Nollywood movie released outside Africa, playing in cinemas across the United States, Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Sweden, and Norway.

Reacting to the milestone, Funke Akindele expressed her gratitude on X, formerly Twitter as well as Instagram:

“I’m beyond grateful to my incredible cast, the unstoppable Jenifans, my amazing colleagues, the diasporan community, and everyone who’s been part of this journey. You’re the real MVPs.
“Your love and support have been the fuel behind this dream. I couldn’t have done this without you. THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.”

Back home in Nigeria, Everybody Loves Jenifa is the highest-grossing Nollywood movie of 2024, earning ₦500 million within just 12 days of release. It also set a new record for the biggest opening weekend, grossing ₦206 million, surpassing Akindele’s previous hit, A Tribe Called Judah, which opened with ₦113 million last year.

The film further solidified its dominance by achieving the highest-grossing one-day performance of the year, raking in ₦87.8 million.

Everybody Loves Jenifa tells the story of Jenifa, portrayed by Funke Akindele, a well-loved member of her community whose charm and influence are threatened when a new neighbor, Lobster (played by Stan Nze), arrives. Lobster, who also runs an NGO, turns out to be using it as a front to secure fraudulent grants from global humanitarian organizations.

The star-studded cast includes Falz, Omowunmi Dada, Jackie Appiah, Nancy Isime, Destiny Etiko, Chy Nwakanma, Patience Ozokwor, Lateef Adedimeji, Bisola Aiyeola, and more, with notable appearances from D’banj, Hilda Baci, and Cute Abiola.