Actor and filmmaker Femi Adebayo has achieved a milestone in Nollywood by grossing N417 million in 12 days with “Agesinkole 2: King of Thieves” through community cinemas.
The film screened in six southwestern states: Lagos, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, and Ogun (including Abeokuta), plus Ilorin in Kwara State. Tickets sold at N4,000 in Lagos and N3,000 elsewhere, marking the first use of this distribution model in Nollywood.
Adebayo described the project as the first community cinema title, the first Nollywood film in such venues, and his own first attempt at this approach. The sequel builds on the 2022 original ‘Agesinkole’, which earned N322 million in traditional cinemas. Distributed by Euphoria 360, Circuits, and Blue Pictures, “Agesinkole 2” positions itself as a movement to expand access beyond standard theatres.
This success contrasts with Nigeria’s 2025 box office trends, where top films relied on traditional cinemas. West African cinemas, led by Nigeria, generated N15.6 billion in total revenue that year. The highest-grossing Nollywood title was Funke Akindele’s ‘Behind The Scenes’, which has earned N1.77 billion so far. The movie is predicted to reach N2 billion, which will make it the first ever movie in Nigerian cinema to achieve that feat. Other performers included Toyin Abraham’s ‘Oversabi Aunty’ at N711.5 million, who is also predicted to reach her first billion naira with the film, ‘Reel Love’ at N354 million, and titles like ‘Ori: The Rebirth’, and ‘Warlord: Olori’. These films used established cinema chains for distribution.
Discussions in BusinessDay articles highlight challenges in traditional exhibitions that Adebayo’s model addresses. In one piece, industry expert Joy Odiete, Chief Executive Officer of Blue Picture Entertainment, called for investments in infrastructure, such as community cinemas, to create more opportunities for screenings. With just 102 cinemas serving 2.79 million viewers (according to 2025 FilmOne reports), Odiete believes that exhibition in Nigeria presents hurdles that require strategic investments in infrastructure, such as community cinemas.
Another article by BusinessDay highlights experts’ belief that strengthening and expanding the distribution network will be a key growth factor for Nollywood from 2025 and beyond. Experts such as Ojie Imoloame, co-founder of Offering Basket presdited a renewed focus on distribution strategies among filmmakers, one being achieved by Abebayo.
In 2024, the Nigerian government waived licensing fees for community cinema investors. The Nigerian Film and Video Censors Board granted provisional approval for a 12-month pilot community cinema project to test the concept. Husseini Shaibu, Executive Director of the National Film and Video Censors Board, considered the establishment of Community Cinemas as a low-hanging fruit to bring cinemagoers in communities, towns, and villages back to the big screen.
Adebayo’s initiative may signal a shift, offering lower-cost access in underserved areas while bypassing traditional distribution hurdles. As Nollywood expands, such models could increase overall revenue and audience reach in Nigeria’s film industry.
