Nollywood’s Igbo-language cultural epic, Ikenga: The Last Festival, has surpassed N100 million in cinema revenue less than a month after its nationwide release.
The feat has also seen the film recognised as the highest-grossing Igbo-language movie in West Africa.
The film’s Executive Producer, Anita Odiakaose, disclosed the achievement during a media briefing in Enugu on Tuesday, where she spoke about the movie’s commercial performance and its role in promoting Igbo culture and heritage.
Ikenga opened in cinemas across Nigeria on August 21 and has continued to attract audiences. Distributor FilmOne put its reported earnings at about N103.4 million, describing the performance as a record for an Igbo-language title in West Africa.
The movie explores Igbo traditions through a storyline that combines a cultural festival, romance, fiction and elements of authentic heritage.
According to Odiakaose, about 90 per cent of the dialogue is in Igbo, with subtitles provided for viewers who do not speak the language. She also said roughly 90 per cent of the cast and crew are Igbo.
The production features veteran and contemporary actors including Pete Edochie, Patience Ozokwor, Kanayo O. Kanayo, Zubby Michael, Jidekene Achufusi and Beverly Osu.
Odiakaose said the film’s performance demonstrates the audience’s appetite for stories rooted in indigenous culture and identity.
She also called for greater efforts to preserve the Igbo language, urging filmmakers to deliberately incorporate indigenous names, languages, traditions and cultural elements into their productions.
For Odiakaose, the success is particularly significant because Ikenga is her first cinema production. She revealed that she had previously produced about 70 films, largely for YouTube and other platforms.
The producer further disclosed that the film is set for an international cinema run, with a United States premiere scheduled for October 30. Screenings in the United Kingdom and Canada are expected to follow in November and December respectively.
The strong cinema performance has placed Ikenga among recent Nigerian productions demonstrating the commercial potential of indigenous-language storytelling on the big screen.
