Actress and filmmaker, Funke Akindele has emerged as the top earning woman in Nollywood grossing N749m from her roles in movies in the year 2023.
Her flick ‘A Tribe Called Judah’ is also the highest earning movie at the boxoffice according to Filmone Entertainment in its data release for the year. ‘A Tribe Called Judah’ made N1.4b between 2023 and March 31, 2024.
Akindele was trailed by Shaffy Bello with N216 million, while Toyin Abraham came third with a record of N144 million in individual earnings. Others like Omowumi Dada made N128m, Mercy Aigbe N126m, Bimbo Ademoye N122m, Ireti Doye N121m, Nancy Isime N94m, Sandra Okunzuwa N64m and Sophie Alakija N57m, made up the top ten earners.
They were made the list based on their roles as lead actresses or first or second supporting lead actresses in one or more films released in 2023 and played through until 31 December 2023.
“None of this would be possible without the love and enthusiasm of my incredible fans, and the dedication and expertise of the crew who worked on my films,” Funke Akindele posted on her Instagram page.
According to the Filmone Entertainment data, the Nigerian cinema industry recorded N2.25 billion in revenue from ticket sales in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, reflecting a 46% increase in box office revenues as opposed to the N1.5 billion generated in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023.
The dominance of Nollywood films, particularly ‘A Tribe Called Judah,’ contributed to this increase as the billion naira grossing film was responsible for 27% of the Q1 overall revenue.
