From Just 10 Cinemas, ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’ Ends Nollywood’s 4-Month Winning Streak

The Nigerian box office just witnessed a statistical anomaly that has sent shockwaves through the industry. For months, the domestic film market felt like an impenetrable fortress of local content, with Nollywood titles passing the baton of leadership from one to another in a seamless display of dominance.

However, that record-breaking run officially came to a halt this past weekend when the Bollywood blockbuster Dhurandhar: The Revenge staged a clinical coup. What makes this shift truly sensational isn't just that a foreign title took the lead, but that it did so while showing in only 10 select locations across the country.

To understand the magnitude of this upset, one must look at the sheer duration of Nollywood's reign. The streak began on the weekend of November 28–30, 2025, with the release of Odunlade Adekola’s epic Warlord (Olori Ogun). From that moment until the weekend of March 13–15, 2026, a Nigerian film held the number one spot for 16 consecutive weekends.

This period saw a "clean sweep" of the charts as the baton moved from the high-octane energy of Warlord (Olori Ogun) to the massive commercial success of Funke Akindele’s Behind the Scenes, then to the romantic charm of Timini Egbuson’s Love & New Notes, and finally to the two-week stronghold of Laju Iren’s Onobiren.

The math behind this past weekend's result is what is truly "wild." Typically, a film requires a wide release across dozens of screens to accumulate the volume needed to top the national charts.

For Dhurandhar to outearn the entire field including heavyweights like Love & New Notes the current buzzing Onobiren and fresh titles like Eleko (Oba Esugbayi), Aba Blues, and Irete (The Reckoning) from a mere 10 cinemas suggests an astronomical per-theater average. It implies that every seat in those select locations was filled for nearly every showing, driven by a dedicated audience that turned the film's limited release into a historic takeover.

This 16-week dominance is a rarity in Nigerian cinema history, echoing the legendary runs of the past. It mirrors the late 2020 era when Omo Ghetto: The Saga, Ponzi, and The Razz Guy controlled the charts for 13 weeks, or the late 2018 period when Merry Men, King of Boys, and Chief Daddy formed a similar blockade against foreign titles.

While Dhurandhar has finally broken the current streak, the question now remains whether Nollywood can immediately reclaim the throne. With the Easter season fast approaching, the industry is watching to see if this was a one-week disruption or the start of a more competitive landscape for local filmmakers.