By By Elsie Udoh
The blockbuster movie, ‘Battle on Buka Street’, directed by Funke Akindele, has broken cinema records as it hits $61,000 in the United States.
This groundbreaking record was announced by FilmOne Entertainment (Nigeria) on Wednesday.
The movie beat the long-standing record of Avatar as the highest-grossed movie with a revenue of $2.7 billion.
The movie which was released by FilmOne Entertainment and Part Two Media in the United States is the first-ever indigenous Nollywood movie to be released and sold out in the US.
Speaking on the movie’s achievements, Moses Babatope and Kene Ikwuosa from FilmOne Entertainment noted that the movie, despite being the first indigenous Nollywood release in the US, is performing beyond expectation.
They expressed, “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.”
Also, reacting to the movie, Craig Shurn, of Part Two Media gave full credit to Funke Akindele and mentioned that it is an honour for the movie to be brought to Africans in the diaspora.
“We always knew that ‘Battle on Buka Street’ had the potential to do well in the US, especially after its 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 has been underserved and starved of true African content, especially theatrically, for the longest time, and it is an honour to have brought ‘Battle on Buka Street’ to them eventually. It’s a great start, and it’s exciting what the future holds.”
He also built anticipation for the debut of ‘Ijakumo: Born Again Stripper’ produced by Toyin Abraham which is coming on January 13.
“Next up is Toyin Abraham’s ‘Ijakumo: Born Again Stripper’ which is coming 13th of January,” he added.
The movie ‘Battle on Buka Street’ which features appearances of star Actors including Funke Akindele, Mercy Johnson and Femi Jacobs is focused on two women who find themselves again at odds after a long-time rivalry when they start food businesses in the same street.
