The Wedding Party, released in 2016, is the first Nigerian film to gross more than 400 million naira in the Nigerian box office. Its sequel, The Wedding Party 2, grossed 312 million dollars in its first month. These are incredible achievements.
Both movies generated over 2 billion US dollars in 2016 and 2017, making them two of the most successful movies in Nigerian cinema so far. The Wedding Party 2, surprisingly, single-handedly carries the title of the highest grossing Nigerian film of all time.
Their record breaking performances in cinemas at home and abroad have shown that there is incredible, untapped potential in the Nigerian film industry. Foreign investors and reputable media companies like Netflix, Canal+, and Array Releasing (owned by Ava Duvernay) have acquired three Nigerian movies in the past 2 years. Nollywood is reaching for the stars, and it is far from reaching its peak.
The Wedding Party 2 was so successful in fact that it’s Nigerian box office numbers were far more than that of the epic Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which was released in Nigerian cinemas around the same time. Thus, the movie has set a new record in the Nigerian box office that no Nigerian movie has beaten since.
Sources
Qz
Pulse NG
Featured Image Source: The Guardian Nigeria