Nollywood has a new box office champion. Iyabo Ojo, the actress and filmmaker, announced that her latest film, Return of Arinzo, has become the highest-grossing movie of the Easter weekend in Nigeria.
The film pulled in an astonishing N104.8 million during its opening weekend. Ojo shared the news on X on Monday, thanking fans for their overwhelming support. The numbers mark a major milestone not just for her career but for Nollywood sequels as a whole.
According to Ojo’s announcement, Return of Arinzo shattered multiple records in just three days. The film achieved the highest-grossing Easter weekend performance in Nollywood history. It also secured the biggest opening weekend for any Nigerian sequel to date.
“This was only possible because of you,” Ojo wrote to her followers. The filmmaker has been actively promoting the movie across social media, building momentum for weeks leading up to the Easter release.
The N104.8 million figure places Return of Arinzo among the strongest openings of the year. Industry observers note that Easter weekend is traditionally a competitive release window, with multiple studios vying for audience attention. Ojo’s film not only won that race but did so by a significant margin.
The success also signals growing audience appetite for franchise storytelling in Nollywood. Sequels have historically underperformed compared to originals, but Return of Arinzo has reversed that trend. For Iyabo Ojo, who both stars in and produced the film, the record cements her status as a formidable force behind the camera as well as in front of it.
