Agbara Nla: The Return has generated more than N71 million from preview screenings at the West African box office, setting multiple records ahead of its official cinema release on October 2, 2026.
The faith-based movie sold more than 12,000 tickets during its preview screenings, recording the highest single-day preview gross ever reported in West Africa and the largest preview admissions figure for a movie in 2026, according to Nile Entertainment and Nigerian box office data.
The film marks the return of Agbara Nla 33 years after the original Yoruba Christian movie became one of the notable productions in Nigeria’s faith-based film industry.
With its strong preview showing, the movie entered its nationwide theatrical release on October 2 with more than N71 million already earned at the box office.
Early box office figures indicated that the film grossed about N70 million from 12,134 admissions, making it the No. 1 movie of the week despite being shown only as a preview.
Nile Entertainment, the film’s distributor, subsequently confirmed that the revenue had exceeded N71 million.
The performance also made Agbara Nla the Nollywood film with the biggest first-day gross, the highest single-day gross on record and the largest single-day box office revenue recorded in October.
The movie further secured the biggest opening for a faith-based production at the West African box office.
Revenue data showed that Lagos and other South-West markets accounted for a substantial share of the film’s early earnings.
Lagos contributed 50.8% of the movie’s revenue, making it the largest market by a significant margin. Oyo followed with 13.2%, while Abuja accounted for 10.7%.
Ogun contributed 6.2%, followed by Kwara with 4.5%, Osun with 3.8%, Edo with 3.3% and Ondo with 2.7%.
Rivers accounted for 1.9%, while Plateau and Akwa Ibom contributed 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively. Delta and Enugu each recorded 0.4%, while Abia and Kaduna contributed 0.3% apiece.
Cross River and Kano each represented 0.2% of the revenue, while Anambra accounted for 0.1%.
The figures underscore the film’s strong showing across its core South-West market. Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Osun and Ondo collectively generated about 76.7% of the reported revenue.
Abuja was the strongest market outside the South-West, accounting for more than a tenth of the film’s early box office revenue.
Agbara Nla finished ahead of several major titles during the period. Star Lomo generated N45.8 million from about 7,900 admissions, while Avengers: Endgame – Encore recorded N44.2 million from 7,549 admissions.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day added N34.5 million, pushing its cumulative West African gross beyond N2.3 billion.
Resident Evil earned N29.8 million from 4,214 admissions in its second week, taking its cumulative gross to N76.1 million.
19 generated N18 million, while Heart of the Beast recorded N16 million. The Odyssey added N13.3 million, bringing its cumulative gross to N871.8 million.
King Kosoko and Ikenga generated N8.9 million and N7.7 million, respectively.
The performance comes as faith-based and faith-influenced productions continue to attract commercial attention at the Nigerian box office.
In 2024, What About Us, the filmmaking debut of Celebration Church International’s lead pastor, Emmanuel Iren, generated N24.6 million during its opening weekend and became the highest-grossing movie in Nigerian cinemas during the period.
The film subsequently crossed the N100 million mark, becoming the seventh Nigerian movie to reach that milestone in 2024.
The segment recorded another notable result in 2026 with Laju Iren’s Onobiren: A Woman’s Story. The faith-based drama opened with N30.1 million between March 6 and 8, topping the weekend box office in Nigeria and Ghana.
Onobiren concluded its seven-week theatrical run with N138.1 million at the West African box office, placing it among the Nigerian films to surpass N100 million in 2026.
Agbara Nla’s preview results mark a much stronger opening for the faith-based film segment, with more than N71 million already earned, more than double Onobiren’s N30.1 million three-day opening and nearly three times the N24.6 million opening-weekend gross recorded by What About Us.
Goodness Anunobi
Follow us on:
