Agbara Nla: The Return has generated more than N71 million at the West African box office from preview screenings, setting multiple records ahead of its official nationwide cinema release on October 2, 2026.
The faith-based movie sold more than 12,000 tickets during its previews, recording the biggest single-day preview gross in West Africa and the highest preview admissions for a film in 2026, according to Nile Entertainment and Nigerian box office data.
The performance means the movie entered its official theatrical run with more than N71 million already generated at the box office.
The film is a sequel to the 1993 Yoruba Christian classic Agbara Nla, returning to cinemas 33 years after the original became one of the notable productions in Nigeria’s faith-based film industry.
Initial box office figures showed that Agbara Nla generated about N70 million from 12,134 admissions, making it the highest-grossing film of the week despite being screened only as a preview.
Its distributor, Nile Entertainment, later confirmed that the figure had exceeded N71 million.
The performance also set several records, including the biggest first-day gross for a Nollywood movie, the biggest single-day gross for a Nollywood title and the biggest single-day box-office gross recorded in October.
The film also recorded the biggest opening for a faith-based movie at the West African box office.
The movie’s early revenue was heavily concentrated in Lagos and other South-West markets.
Lagos accounted for 50.8 per cent of reported revenue, making it the film’s biggest market. Oyo followed with 13.2 per cent, while Abuja contributed 10.7 per cent.
Ogun accounted for 6.2 per cent, followed by Kwara at 4.5 per cent, Osun at 3.8 per cent, Edo at 3.3 per cent and Ondo at 2.7 per cent.
Rivers contributed 1.9 per cent, while Plateau and Akwa Ibom accounted for 0.6 per cent and 0.5 per cent respectively.
Delta and Enugu each contributed 0.4 per cent, while Abia and Kaduna accounted for 0.3 per cent apiece. Cross River and Kano each represented 0.2 per cent, while Anambra contributed 0.1 per cent.
The figures show the film’s strong performance in its core South-West market, with Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Osun and Ondo collectively accounting for about 76.7 per cent of reported revenue.
Abuja emerged as the strongest market outside the South-West, contributing more than 10 per cent of the film’s early box-office revenue.
Agbara Nla also led several major titles during the reporting period.
Star Lomo generated N45.8 million from about 7,900 admissions, while Avengers: Endgame – Encore grossed N44.2 million from 7,549 admissions.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day added N34.5 million, taking its cumulative West African gross beyond N2.3 billion.
Resident Evil generated N29.8 million from 4,214 admissions in its second week, pushing its cumulative gross to N76.1 million.
Other titles included 19, which grossed N18 million; Heart of the Beast, N16 million; and The Odyssey, N13.3 million, taking its cumulative gross to N871.8 million.
King Kosoko and Ikenga generated N8.9 million and N7.7 million respectively.
