The movie debuted in 11 Regal Cinemas, making Funke Akindele’s movie the first ever Indigenous Nollywood release in the United States.
Despite opening in only 11 locations, the comedy earned $61, 000 over the 4-day New Year Weekend.
Commenting on the movie’s impressive opening, Craig Shurn, of Part Two Media, said, “We always knew that ‘Battle on Buka Street’ had the potential to do well in the US especially after it’s blockbuster results and status in Nigeria, but we never expected these sorts of figures for the first Nollywood release here. Full credit to the star, director and producer Funke Akindele, who worked her magic to her 15 million+ Instagram followers. The US African diaspora have been underserved and starved of true African content, especially theatrically, for the longest time, and it is an honor to have brought ‘Battle on Buka Street’ to them eventually. It’s a great start, and it’s exciting what the future holds. Next up is Toyin Abraham’s ‘Ijakumo: Born Again Stripper’ which is coming 13th January.”
Regal has added another 11 locations on the 2nd week due to strong demand and sell-out shows.
Moses Babatope and Kene Okwuosa, from FilmOne Entertainment has also weighed in.
In their words, “With the strong showing of ‘Battle on Buka Street,’ Nigerian film has come full circle, and gaining more attention from international audiences. As the first indigenous Nollywood release in the US, this film is performing beyond expectation and is an indication of what we should look forward to this year for global releases of films from Nigeria. In a few months and years, we expect that Nollywood releases will be a consistent feature in cinemas in the US, Europe and beyond.”
Following Akindele’s release, FilmOne and Regal Cinemas are set to debut Toyin Abraham’s ‘Ijakumo: Born Again Stripper‘ on January 13, 2023 in the US and UK.
The movie opens exclusively at select Regal theatres, with advance screenings beginning on January 12th.
Here in Nigeria, ‘Battle on Buka Street‘ is the number one movie at the box office, earning over N360 million in three weeks.
‘Ijakumo: Born Again Stripper’ follows in third place with N137 million after showing for two weeks.
The movie opened with N87.76 million against international heavyweight title – ‘Avatar: The Way of Water.’
Watch the trailer for ‘Battle on Buka Street’:
