Thirty-three years after a Yoruba-language gospel film reached Nigerian audiences through church halls and family living rooms on videotape, its remake has sold more than 12,000 cinema admissions in previews ahead of its nationwide release.
Agbara Nla: The Return generated more than ₦71 million from previews, with over 12,100 admissions, according to its distributor, Nile Entertainment.
The Nigerian Box Office, a box-office analysis platform, reported a slightly different figure of about ₦70 million from 12,134 admissions between September 25 and October 1, 2026.
Based on the distributor’s reported figures, the preview gross works out at roughly ₦5,800 per admission. That is a blended average and does not mean every cinema ticket was sold at the same price, as ticket prices vary by cinema and screen format.
Nile Entertainment and Nigerian Box Office reports described the performance as the biggest single-day preview gross in West Africa and the highest preview admissions recorded by any film in 2026.
The film is a contemporary reimagining of Mike Bamiloye’s 1993 Christian classic Agbara Nla, which was later released in English as The Ultimate Power in 1994. Damilola Bamiloye, Mike Bamiloye’s son, is among the directors of the remake.
Thelma Udeze, head of theatrical distribution at Nile Entertainment, said the response showed the continued connection audiences have with stories that reflect their faith, culture and lived experiences.
The performance also comes as faith-based and faith-influenced films gain more attention in Nigeria’s cinema market. Nairametrics reported on October 2, 2026, that such films have been building commercial momentum, while PM News reported the same day that Agbara Nla: The Return was attracting both viewers familiar with the original and younger audiences encountering the story for the first time.
The film opened nationwide on October 2, 2026. Its preview figures provide an early indication of audience interest, but the first full weekend of general-release box-office returns will provide a clearer picture of how that interest translates into sustained cinema attendance.
The preview figures were reported by the distributor and the Nigerian Box Office platform and have not been independently audited.
