Nollywood dominates Nigerian box office at start of June

Nollywood films occupied five of the top 10 positions raking majority earnings in Nigerian cinemas for the June 5-7 weekend, including the top two spots.

Call of My Life topped the chart with N63.8 million for the weekend, bringing its four-week total to N498.8 million. Ajosepo: The Gathering placed second with N32.3 million in its second week and a cumulative N99.6 million. Other Nollywood entries included The Boy Who Gave at seventh, Efunroye at ninth, and Okanjuwa at tenth.

Hollywood releases showed mixed results. The new Masters of the Universe opened at third with N21.4 million. The Michael Jackson biopic Michael held fourth with N20.5 million in its seventh week and a strong cumulative N727.1 million. New entries Scary Movie 6 and Deep Water took fifth and sixth, while Mortal Kombat II placed eighth.

This early June performance shows Nollywood starting the month with stronger momentum in the local market. Domestic films captured the number one and two positions and demonstrated steady holds among lower-ranked titles, reflecting consistent audience preference for local stories.

The rest of June could shift the balance. Major Hollywood titles are scheduled for release, including Pixar’s Toy Story 5 and DC’s Supergirl, toward the end of the month.

Toy Story 5, as a family-friendly animated sequel, is likely to draw large crowds, especially during school holidays, and could claim the top spot upon release. Its broad appeal may also pressure holdovers like Call of My Life and Ajosepo by splitting family audiences. Supergirl, a superhero film, is expected to perform well with action fans and could dominate the final weekend of June, potentially pushing several current top 10 films down the rankings.

Nollywood’s current leaders benefit from word-of-mouth and established runs. ‘Call of My Life’ has shown strong staying power, but big-budget Hollywood releases often generate higher opening weekends in Nigeria. This could compress the earnings of ongoing Nollywood titles in the second half of the month, though local films may retain solid mid-tier positions if they continue to connect with core audiences.

Overall, Nollywood has taken an early lead in June, but incoming Hollywood blockbusters are set to test that position in the weeks ahead.