Nollywood’s Agbara Nla: The Return has grossed more than ₦170.6 million in its first four days in cinemas, extending a record-setting opening for a faith-based film built around a 1993 Christian classic.
The film’s distributor, Nile Group, announced the milestone today, October 5, 2026, according to The PUNCH. The distributor said the film recorded the biggest non-December opening weekend for a Nollywood title, the biggest October opening weekend and the biggest opening weekend for a faith-based film.
Agbara Nla: The Return opened in cinemas on October 1, Nigeria’s Independence Day, giving the film access to the additional footfall associated with the public holiday.
The strong theatrical run follows an already significant preview performance. Nigerian Box Office, a platform that tracks cinema admissions and revenue, said the film recorded about ₦70 million from 12,134 admissions during its preview window from September 25 to October 1. The figure was the highest first-day admissions record in Nigeria in 2026, according to the platform.
Nairametrics reported on October 2 that the preview earnings had exceeded ₦71 million, more than twice the ₦30.1 million three-day opening recorded by Onobiren and almost three times the ₦24.6 million opening weekend of What About Us.
The audience distribution also points to the strength of the film’s core market. Nairametrics reported that the South-West, where the story is set and where the original film has a strong cultural and religious following, dominated early admissions, while Abuja emerged as the strongest market outside the region, contributing more than a tenth of early revenue.
The commercial performance is also a case study in the value of intellectual property. The new production is a remake of Mike Bamiloye’s 1993 Christian film, with Bamiloye returning as the herbalist Isawuru 33 years after the original. His sons, Damilola Mike-Bamiloye and Joshua Bamiloye, directed the new production.
Technext24 reported that the remake demonstrates how an established Nigerian story can be repackaged for a new generation and converted into a commercial cinema property decades after its original release.
Fan engagement and community mobilisation have also been linked to the film’s early performance. The News Agency of Nigeria, citing co-director Joshua Bamiloye, reported that fan engagement, community mobilisation and social media activity contributed to the film’s reach.
The scale of the opening is notable because Agbara Nla: The Return is operating in a market where faith-based films have traditionally depended heavily on church and community audiences rather than mainstream cinema traffic alone. Its four-day performance could therefore strengthen the case for distributors to give similar productions wider theatrical releases.
However, the film’s production budget has not been publicly disclosed, making it too early to determine its profitability from box-office revenue alone.
The next test will be whether Agbara Nla: The Return can maintain its momentum after the Independence Day holiday and turn its exceptional opening into a sustained theatrical run.
