President Bola Tinubu has celebrated the ingenuity, creativity, and immense artistic talents of Nigeria’s thriving entertainment industry.
In a statement by Presidential spokesman, Chief Ajuri Ngelale, Tinubu also congratulated Ms Funke Akindele on her record-setting film and commends the ace thespian for her contributions to the growth of the industry.
The President extolled the creative industry’s pivotal place as a medium not only for artistic expression but also a source of enormous soft power and viable export.
2023 Carnival Calabar: Calas Vegas band is overall winner
“The creative industry is one of the high-employment sectors, providing jobs for our able and talented youths. It is an industry that is crucial to my administration. I salute Nigerians for their enduring support and patronage of home-grown creative efforts. We will provide the conducive environment for the industry to thrive further,” Tinubu said.
Funke Akindele’s blockbuster, ‘A Tribe Called Judah’, broke a box office record within 21 days of its release in cinemas to become the first Nollywood film to gross N1bn (One Billion Naira).
Ace Nollywood actress and producer of the movie, Funke Akindele, disclosed this on her Instagram page as she shared the N1bn feat flier.
She wrote, “Thank You LORD!!!, Thank NIGERIA!!, Thank you GHANA!!”
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the movie which hit cinemas on December 15, 2023, has continued to break records, becoming the first to gross over N133m in its opening weekend.
It became the highest-grossing Nollywood film for the year 2023 after grossing over N613m within the first 14 days of its release.
The film earlier made history on January 2, as it emerged as the highest-grossing Nollywood film ever with a reported N854m at the box office within 18 days in cinemas.
This feat has surpassed Akindele’s previous films ‘Battle on Buka Street’ (N668.4m), and ’ Omo Ghetto’ (N636.1m) which currently sit as the second and third highest-grossing films at the Nigerian box office respectively.
