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Behold! Highest Grossing Nollywood Films Of 2016

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Going by publicized box
office records alone, 2016 is turning out to be a far better year for Nigerian films than 2015. 2016 is barely three months away from ending and so far, after what started out slowly, it is safe to say that this has been a good year for Nollywood. That year’s highest grossing film, Mo Abudu’s Fifty grossed N50m. so far in 2016, three films have comfortably crossed that mark with one of them set to make double of that.
Fifty, Road to Yesterday, Taxi Driver: Oko Ashewo, The First Lady, Tempting Fate and The Visit were the highest grossing films of 2015, making about N150.63m between them. That is about N11m short of the record-shattering N161m grossed by AY’s 30 Days in Atlanta which has since held on to the record as the highest grossing film in Nollywood.
AY also leads the pack in 2016 with his new film, A Trip to Jamaica having grossed N82m so far after just 10 days in the cinemas. According to figures released recently by Film One Distribution, the film has been playing in all 28 cinema locations across Nigeria. According to Moses Babatope, the Group ED/COO Film One Distribution. ‘Generally, there has been better performance in the box office by Nigerian films’.
This reflected in the figures obtained by TNS (1. A Trip to Jamaica – N82m (figure in 10 days only) (2. Wives on Strike – N67m (3). The CEO – N60m (includes figures from Ghana) (4). Fifty – N44m (January to March 2016 only) (5) Ghana Must Go – N32m.
Bovi’s It’s Her Day is believed to be another box office success story even though official figures were not available as at the time of this report. The N44m made by fifty this year adds to the N50 million it made during the closing part of 2015. N94 million is not a bad figure.
The projection with A Trip to Jamaica is that it is on course to take over the number one spot from 30 Days in Atlanta within the next two weeks of its stay in the cinemas across Nigeria, as it looks set to continue to screen to sold-out audience. By October 25, it is projected that the film would have made at least N130m which is about N31m shy of the record it is looking to break. Stakeholders in the industry have described this development as a welcome one, saying that this will give way to more opportunities for the industry.
AMVCA-winning actor, Tope Tedela said, it is good to have these kinds of positive developments where people can recoup their investments because no one just wants to act and make a film, at least we also want finances that can make a solid foundation. So, yeah, I’m happy.’ ‘AY has over the years created a brand with which he now promotes his content.
He has that like ability and he has the platform; film maker, Olu Yomi Ososanya highlighted before continuing, ‘Now, the cinemas can see that Nigerian films can do big numbers and they will now see that giving him a favourable slot also helped, A Trip to Jamaica screens an average of four times across cinemas producer, director and writer, Tope Oshin, whose documentary, Amaka’s kin is making its debut at the BFI film festival in London said, ‘This is definitely exciting news! It’s just my hope that we can grow our cinema audience to the point where this kind of box office successes will soon be possible for films of other genres as well’.
Part of a report by Jude Martins, a film critic and public relations expert, as well as Moses Babatope and published by TNS reads, ‘with the second half pregnant with intriguing films such as Kunle Afolayan’s The CEO, the much anticipated ’76, The Arbitration, 93 days, When Love Happens Again. The Wedding party and of course, Ayo Makun’s steaming ‘A Trip to Jamaica’, we can confidently anticipate a new dawn in Nollywood’s annual gross box office returns. Infact, those in the know are optimistic about a possible 800 million naira in annual box office takings which even with the devaluation of the naira will be close to $3 million.
While the N800m box office takings projection might not seem feasible any longer this year, other highly anticipated releases scheduled for later this year make 2016 a better year than 2015 by more than a mile.

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Why Fans No Longer Faint For Musicians – Paul Okoye

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Nigerian singer and half of the defunct P-Square duo, Paul Okoye, aka Rudeboy, has claimed that social media has reduced the prestige and value fans attached to musicians due to the mystique that artistes had before the era of social media.
Speaking in a recent interview with Lun Lifestyle TV, Rudeboy argued that social media, despite all its benefits, has shattered the illusion of artistes being mysterious and godlike.
This he said has reduced the buzz artistes previously enjoyed whenever their fans got the opportunity to see them whether physically or visually.
The ‘Reason With Me’ crooner explained that because artistes are no longer mysterious, fans are no longer eager to watch them in music videos.
He claimed that shooting music videos is now a waste of money.
Rudeboy said, “Music videos somehow now, because of this generation, is a waste of money. I am sorry to say this. But do you remember us [P-Square] before? You don’t see us anywhere. You just watch music videos, you see us and that’s it, or we come to your country, you see us.
“The reason you don’t see people faint for artistes anymore is because they see them on TikTok every day dancing and promoting your music. If Michael Jackson was alive now and doing promotional content on social media, nobody would see him and faint.
“Unfortunately, it’s too late for us to bring back the era of artistes being mystiques. How can you advise an artiste to post every day? How? Post what? You don’t need to.
“Social media brought positive change to the industry but it also led to ‘see-finish.’ Artistes are now too exposed. Fans see how they eat, cry. Before when artistes go to club, they stay in restricted VIP areas, but now when they are clubbing, everyone is filming.”

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Davido’s Aide Offers Cash Reward For Missing Phone At Zlatan’s Wedding

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Afrobeats superstar, Davido’s aide, Damilare Aladegbola, popularly known as Dre, has offered a cash reward to whoever returns his phone, which he claims went missing during rapper Zlatan Ibile’s wedding ceremony.
Dre made the appeal in a post on his Instagram page on Monday, pleading with the person who allegedly took the device to return it in exchange for money.
“If na u carry my phone for Zlatan wedding, abeg return am, I go give you money please,” he wrote.
The aide also expressed frustration over what he suggested was a method being used to take phones at social gatherings.
He said he would no longer tolerate waiters asking whether guests had finished eating so they could clear their plates, alleging that the practice could provide an opportunity for phones left on tables to be taken.
“From now on, if I go any party or dey any party and any stupid waitress tell me say are you done eating so I can pack your plate, na swear I go swear for you cause na pattern wey una dey use pack phone for table be that now,” he added.
However, Dre did not identify anyone suspected of taking his phone or provide further details about how the device went missing.
Zlatan Ibile tied the knot with his longtime partner, Davita Lamai, during a traditional wedding ceremony on Saturday, October 24, 2026.
The ceremony, held in Lagos, attracted several celebrities, fans and well-wishers, with Davido among the prominent guests and leading the groomsmen.

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I Ran Away From Nigeria, Never Wanted To Come Back-Chidinma

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Popular singer, Chidinma Ekile has revealed that before transitioning from secular music to the gospel genre, she “ran away” from Nigeria.
Speaking at a recent Eezee Conceptz event, Chidinma explained that she travelled abroad and wanted to secure permanent residency because she didn’t want to return to Nigeria, but failed.
She revealed that while she was abroad, the CEO of Eezee Conceptz was the only person calling her from Nigeria, so she decided to work with him upon her return.
“I travelled. I ran away from Nigeria. I was processing my papers not to come back to Nigeria, but for some reason, it didn’t work.
“While I was abroad, the CEO of Eezee Conceptz was the only one who was calling me from Nigeria. He kept encouraging me, and I found the strength to come back to Nigeria. When I came back, I asked him to give me a gospel music contract because I want to spend time with God. And he gave me a contract that even my lawyer said seemed like a charity,” Chidinma stated.
The music star added that she did not transition into gospel music because she wanted to make gospel, but because she wanted a serious relationship with God.

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