Can Iyabo Ojo’s ‘The Return of Arinzo’ become Nollywood’s first billion-naira Easter Hit?

Nollywood star and producer Iyabo Ojo has declared her upcoming Easter release, The Return of Arinzo, will storm past the N1 billion mark at the box office, riding on a high-octane cast led by Funke Akindele and the proven power of the holiday window.

Despite only 118 cinemas nationwide, rising ticket prices, and four other major films dropping the same Easter weekend, Iyabo Ojo insists The Return of Arinzo has what it takes to join the rare N1 billion club – banking on the Q2, 2025 record and her star-packed cast.

The Return of Arinzo is about a figure who was once believed to be dead, whose return raises questions and disrupts the lives connected to her past. The movie also focuses on revenge, identity, and unresolved events, from earlier conflicts around crime, family, and betrayal, as introduced in the original film.

Iyabo Ojo built her reputation with several Yoruba-language films and dramas. Iyabo, the director of Labake Olododo, which was released in 2025, during the same Easter period, grossed N264M. However, she looks to beat those numbers by getting popular names in the movie industry to feature in her work.

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One of the most popular names among the cast is Funke Akindele, whose recent film made history by grossing over N2 billion at the box office. Another cast member, William Benson, who was the lead actor for Kemi Adetiba’s Netflix limited series ‘To Kill A Monkey’, also plays a role in the film released during the Easter holiday.

Easter holidays have increasingly become a strategic release period for film release, especially in Nollywood, often featuring high-profile films competing for audience attention. Records also show that movies released during festive periods, particularly Christmas, tend to outperform others due to higher cinema turnout.

The month of April, which falls under Easter, was one of the best-performing months in 2025, ranking over N1.3 billion. Movies released during this period extended towards the end of Q2, with May making N1.62 billion and June making N1.33 billion.

In the past few years, the Nigerian box office has grown in visibility. Weekly earnings are now tracked, opening weekends are reported, and producers plan releases around peak periods.

The N1 billion threshold remains a huge milestone in the industry. So far, only a few filmmakers have crossed the 1 billion mark. Among them is Funke Akindele, whose films such as A Tribe Called Judah and Behind The Scenes, which recently crossed N2 billion each, passed that mark at different times. Toyin Abraham, another actor and filmmaker, joined the billion-naira club when her 2025 title Oversabi Aunty crossed the billion-naira mark.

In the past years, Iyabo Ojo released Labake Olododo in 2025, which was produced by Iyabo Ojo and directed by Biodun Stephen. The movie was released in Nigerian cinemas on March 28, 2025. The movie was set against the Yoruba cultural heritage and tells the story of a heroine who, through her fearless nature, fights against injustice within the community amidst societal pressure.

Following its release, Labake Olododo was once the second-largest debut for 2025, grossing over N50 million at the box office in its opening weekend.

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Reaching the 1 billion mark in Nigeria’s cinema market remains rare due to structural and economic limits.
One major constraint is the number of cinema screens. Nigeria has about 118 cinema locations, serving a population of over 230 million. This limits how many people can watch a film within a given period and reduces total box office potential.

With only 118 cinemas in Nigeria, the competition for screen time is intense, and distributors often struggle to secure favourable slots for their clients. This challenge has driven many distributors into exhibitions.

Joy Odiete, chief executive officer of Blue Pictures Entertainment, made a remark about the insufficient number of cinemas in Nigeria.

“With the way the industry is structured, it is almost impossible to run a distribution business without an exhibiting arm. You always have to negotiate with cinema owners for screen time, but as a distributor, you also need control over screens to scale and ensure your producers get the numbers they expect. Whether by partnering with a cinema chain or owning screens, having an exhibition arm has become necessary,” Odiete explained.

Audience turnout is also relatively low. According to industry data, total cinema admissions stood at 2.8 million in 2025. This figure shows that only a small percentage of the people, compared to the population number, attend cinemas regularly.

Ticket pricing is also another factor to consider. The average ticket price was around N6,000 last year. Currently, prices range between N8,000 and N10,000. Higher operating costs, particularly fuel expenses necessary to power cinema facilities, largely drive this increase. As ticket prices rise, fewer people are willing or able to attend.

During peak periods like Easter and other holidays, multiple films release simultaneously, creating intense competition. This situation splits audience attention and reduces the chances of any single film dominating ticket sales.

However, there is a glimmer of hope for Iyabo Ojo, as the intended cinema run falls within the best-performing months, when cinema revenues were the highest (April-June).

For the Easter period and the month of April, several films are scheduled for cinema release, including Headless, Love and New Note, Onoobirin, and Avante.

Avante, produced by Toka McBaror, is set for release on April 3, the same day as Return of Arinzo. With multiple releases both locally and internationally in the same window, audience demand is divided, which could prove problematic for Iyabo to join the N1 billion club.