Filmmaker Funke Akindele’s latest effort, “Battle on Buka Street,” has taken a major step forward less than two weeks after it generated over N135 million at theaters across Nigeria and West Africa.

The film’s domestic total for the four-day New Year’s weekend in the US was over N27 million ($61,000).

With the backing of Amplify Africa, FilmOne Entertainment (Nigeria) and Part Two Media (USA) premiered ‘Battle on Buka Street’ on December 30 at just 11 Regal Cinemas on limited shows, resulting in sell-outs across the country.

According to accounts, this is the first indigenous Nollywood film to be released in the United States. Because of the overwhelming response and many sell-outs over the opening weekend, Regal decided to open 11 more locations the following week.

Craig Shurn, of Part Two Media, said, “we always knew that ‘Battle on Buka Street’ had the potential to do well in the US, especially after its blockbuster results and status in Nigeria, but we never expected these sorts of figures for the first Nollywood release here. The US African diaspora has been underserved and starved of true African content, especially theatrically, for the longest time, and it is an honor to have brought ‘Battle on Buka Street’ to them eventually. It’s a great start, and it’s exciting what the future holds.”

Moses Babatope and Kene Okwuosa, from FilmOne Entertainment, added that “with the strong showing of ‘Battle on Buka Street,’ Nigerian film has come full circle, and is gaining more attention from international audiences. As the first indigenous Nollywood release in the US, this film is performing beyond expectation and is an indication of what we should look forward to this year for global releases of films from Nigeria.”

YNaija