Filmmaker Funke Akindele was the most featured star in Nollywood’s box office landscape in 2025, driven largely by the record-breaking performance of her film Behind The Scenes.
Behind The Scenes emerged as the highest-grossing Nigerian film of the year (2025). The movie, which Funke co-directed and produced, recorded more than N2.1 billion at cinemas, making it the highest earning local title in Nigerian history. It also set a new single-day box office record on Christmas Boxing Day with a peak of N129.5 million.
The commercial success of Behind The Scenes continued a run of strong box office results for Funke. Industry trackers report that she has now accumulated more than N5.3 billion across her last three releases, placing her as the top performing filmmaker in West Africa.
Close behind Funke in on-screen prominence was Timini Egbuson. He featured in two of the year’s successful films. One was the action-comedy Gingerrr, which grossed about N378 million after its theatrical run. The other was Reel Love, a romantic drama he produced and starred in, which also contributed to his strong presence in cinemas during the year.
Other actors with notable box office visibility in 2025 included Wumi Toriola and Odunlade Adekola, both of whom appeared in Gingerrr. Odunlade Adekola also featured in Labake Olododo, a drama that grossed over N200 million.
Seasoned performers Lateef Adedimeji, Bisola Aiyeola, and Bolaji Ogunmola appeared in ensemble projects that performed well, while talents such as Scarlet Gomez, Uzor Arukwe, Destiny Etiko, Ini Dima-Okojie and Mr Macaroni were among the cast of Behind The Scenes. Films like Oversabi Aunty and Reel Love also drew audiences, reinforcing the trend of ensemble-driven Nollywood hits.
Industry analysts say 2025 was marked by diverse storytelling and strong commercial performances across drama, romance and action genres, underscoring Nollywood’s expanding appeal and box office growth.
