Hollywood Studios Made ₦6.6bn From West Africa’s Box Office in 2025

Hollywood studios pulled in a combined ₦6.6 billion from the West African box office in 2025, based on Comscore data. 

The number global studio brands still strongly shape what people pay to watch in cinemas across the region, even as smaller and independent films continue to find their audience.

Where the ₦6.6bn came from

The ₦6.6bn total was earned by six Hollywood studio groups: Warner Bros., Disney, Universal, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, and Hollywood Indie titles.

Two studios did most of the heavy lifting

Warner Bros. finished as the biggest earner with about ₦2.26bn, while Disney followed closely with about ₦2.17bn. 

Together, they captured the largest share of Hollywood revenue in the market, a sign that big franchises and “event” releases still pull crowds and dominate screen time.

Behind them, the other major studios posted steady results, but far below the top two. Universal, Paramount, and Sony each delivered between roughly ₦547m and ₦658m. Meanwhile, Hollywood independent titles brought in ₦459.8m, smaller in size but meaningful because it shows there is consistent demand for non-franchise and specialised films.

Market share is a concentrated race

The market share figures underline how concentrated Hollywood earnings were.

• Warner Bros.: 33.8% of Hollywood box office in Nigeria
  
• Disney: 32.5%
  
• Universal: 9.9%
  
• Paramount: 8.7%
  
• Sony: 8.2%
  
• Indie titles: 6.9%
  

This structure is familiar in cinema markets: a few major studios capture most ticket revenue, while smaller titles compete for limited marketing reach, fewer premium showtimes, and smaller screen allocation.

West Africa’s total box office hit ₦15.6bn

Hollywood’s ₦6.6bn performance landed inside a stronger overall regional year. West Africa ended 2025 with ₦15.6bn in total box office revenue.

Film market data for the year showed 2.79 million admissions across 248 new releases, screened in 122 cinemas across Nigeria, Ghana, and Liberia. The release mix included 81 Nollywood films, 92 Hollywood titles, and 52 Indian titles.

One detail stands out: Nollywood narrowly led the market, taking 49.4% of ticket sales, while Hollywood took 48.8%. That gap is small, but it matters. It signals that local productions are now competing at scale, even while Hollywood still dominates individual studio tallies and blockbuster weekends.

What this means for cinemas, distributors, and local film

Hollywood’s advantage in West Africa is not a mystery. Big studios win on three things: brand recognition, production quality, and marketing power. When a franchise film drops, people already know the characters, the story world, and the hype. That reduces risk for cinemas and makes scheduling decisions easier.

But the indie numbers are just as important, even if they look small next to the giants. ₦459.8m from indie titles proves there is a steady niche audience. The challenge is access: smaller films often struggle to secure prime slots and wide releases.

For cinema chains and distributors, this is an opening. If they want growth beyond the blockbuster cycle, they can build smarter partnerships with smaller studios, better release strategies, targeted promotions, and curated programming that expands choices without hurting revenue.

What you should know

2025 confirmed two realities at once. Hollywood’s biggest studios still drive major cinema spending in West Africa, with Warner Bros. and Disney leading the pack. 

At the same time, the overall market is becoming more competitive, with Nollywood slightly ahead on total ticket share and independents holding a consistent, if smaller, slice of audience demand.

The opportunity now is to keep the blockbusters but broaden the menu.