‘Call of My Life’: Nollywood’s First Big Hit Outside December

NIGERIA · ENTERTAINMENT

“Call of My Life” has become the first Nollywood film to cross ₦600 million at the box office outside the December holidays, reaching about ₦628 million by 23 June 2026. The romantic comedy is now the highest-grossing Nigerian film of the year.

A quiet record for a love story

Nollywood’s biggest box-office hits usually arrive in December, when Nigerian families flock to the cinema over the holidays. “Call of My Life” has broken that rule by reaching ₦600 million in the middle of the year.

According to figures published by the Nigerian box office, the film grossed ₦32.6 million over the weekend of 19 to 21 June, lifting its running total to about ₦628 million. Its distributor, FilmOne Entertainment, confirmed the milestone.

That total is modest in dollar terms, at roughly 440,000 dollars, but the achievement is cultural as much as financial. It shows a home-grown romance can hold cinemas for weeks without a festive crowd to carry it.

The film opened strongly in May, taking about ₦76.5 million on its first weekend. It then refused to fade, a pattern that often signals strong word of mouth.

What “Call of My Life” is about

The story follows Soluchi, played by Uzoamaka Power, a hopeless romantic still healing after being jilted by a former lover. A routine work call connects her with the charming Eli, and the possibility of the love story she has always wanted.

The cast leans on familiar Nollywood faces, including veterans Nkem Owoh and Patience Ozokwo and the comedian Broda Shaggi. The film even folds in live performances from the singers Johnny Drille and Cobhams Asuquo.

It is the first feature by Dammy Twitch, a music-video director who has worked with stars such as Davido. His move from short films and music videos to a box-office hit is part of the story.

Why the milestone matters

Nollywood is one of the world’s most prolific film industries by volume, turning out thousands of titles a year. Yet most are made for television and streaming, and a sustained cinema hit outside December is still rare.

A film that fills seats for six weekends in a row signals a maturing market, where Nigerian audiences will pay repeatedly for local stories told well. That is what gives studios the confidence to spend more and aim higher.

The distributor says the film now ranks as the seventh-highest-grossing Nollywood release in the West African market. For a mid-year romantic comedy, that is striking company.

From video tapes to the big screen

Nollywood grew up in the 1990s on cheap, direct-to-video films sold in markets across Nigeria. The breakout hit “Living in Bondage” in 1992 is often credited with launching the industry.

From those humble tapes it became one of the world’s largest film industries by sheer output. The look was rough at first, but the appetite was enormous, at home and across the African diaspora.

A newer wave has pushed Nollywood into glossy cinema releases and streaming. Distributors such as FilmOne built modern multiplexes, and platforms like Netflix began commissioning Nigerian originals, raising both budgets and ambitions.

A mid-year cinema record like this one is a marker of how far that journey has come. The same audiences who once bought tapes now fill seats for weeks on end.

Nollywood’s wider moment

The hit lands while Nigerian culture is travelling further than ever. Afrobeats fills global playlists, Nigerian actors appear in international productions, and streaming services court Nollywood for original films.

Box-office records at home strengthen that hand. They give producers the leverage to negotiate better terms abroad and to invest in the polish that travels across borders.

For now the competition is local. Newer releases such as “Iwe Ala: An Ojude Oba Story” are climbing the charts, but “Call of My Life” has set the bar for 2026.

Cinema money also behaves differently from streaming money. Ticket sales arrive quickly and visibly, giving film-makers a clear signal of what audiences will pay to see on a big screen.

That signal travels. A romantic comedy with no superhero or sequel attached, breaking records on its own terms, tells investors that everyday Nigerian stories are bankable.

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