Nollywood actress Wunmi Toriola made her big start as a movie producer with the film “Queen Lateefah.” In just 12 days, the movie made a whopping N150 million in Nigerian cinemas, becoming a big hit!
For two weekends in a row, “Queen Lateefah” was the number one movie at the Nigerian box office. This shows that people really liked the movie in Nigeria’s growing film world.
The movie first came out on September 27, and right away, it made a lot of money, around N58 million, just in the first weekend!
“Queen Lateefah” is a project by Wumi Toriola Productions and Captain of the Sea Productions. It tells the story of Lateefah Adeleke, a 30-year-old businesswoman who wants to be fancy and important. But when she meets a 35-year-old businessman named Jide Rhodes, her secret life starts to fall apart. Jide shows the big difference between what Lateefah wants others to see and the truth about her life.
Lateefah’s mom couldn’t read or write, and they lived in a poor neighborhood. Their house wasn’t in good shape, and they had neighbors who were a bit quirky. Even though Lateefah’s life was tough, she pretended to be a successful woman who travels the world. This makes the movie really interesting, as it shows how Lateefah struggles with who she wants to be and who she really is.
The movie features famous Nollywood actors like Kunle Remi, Femi Adebayo, Nancy Isime, and Broda Shaggi, who has won the African Magic Viewers’ Choice Award twice. All these stars make the movie even more exciting and attractive to watch.
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In just the first week, “Queen Lateefah” made N100.2 million. Cinemax, the movie’s Nigerian distributor, said this was a big success for Toriola’s first try as a producer. Ope Ajayi, who started Cinemax, shares that the company wants to be a big name in Nigerian films by working closely with local filmmakers and spreading African stories. The success of “Queen Lateefah” shows how Nollywood can share important cultural stories not just in Nigeria but all over Africa.
At the same time, another movie called “Farmer’s Bride” also did great in theaters. It made N89.5 million in its first 12 days, with an extra N29.1 million over the last weekend. Its opening was strong with N37 million, making it the second most popular movie in Nigeria during that time.
The amazing success of both movies shows that Nigeria’s film industry is getting bigger and better. With more money spent on making and sharing movies, Nollywood is seeing a boom. These good results at the box office mean that Nollywood is becoming a more important part of global entertainment, reaching beyond just Nigeria’s borders.