Timini Egbuson’s Love and New Notes become highest grossing Nollywood film of 2026 with ₦106 million

Nollywood’s Valentine’s weekend just got a lot more interesting. Love and New Notes, produced by popular actor Timini Egbuson and directed by Kayode Kasum, opened in cinemas across West Africa this weekend, pulling in ₦106.5 million to become the highest grossing Nollywood release of 2026 so far.

The FilmOne production didn’t just top the charts, it dominated them. The romantic film recorded the biggest opening weekend of 2026 and the highest single-day gross for any 2026 release, earning ₦48 million on Valentine’s Day alone.

Love and New Notes also the first Nollywood film to open above ₦100 million outside of December, when holiday crowds typically drive box office numbers up.

Looking at the weekend top 10, Love and New Notes wasn’t just leading, it lapped the competition. The second-place film, BTS, earned ₦50.7 million over the same period but has been running for 10 weeks.

A brand new release like Love and New Notes, pulling in double what a long-running film makes in a weekend says a lot about how strongly audiences responded.

Valentine’s Day pulled the numbers

The timing couldn’t have been more deliberate. Releasing a romantic film on Valentine’s weekend is a calculated move, and it paid off spectacularly. That ₦48 million single-day haul on February 14 shows couples were choosing cinema dates over restaurants and other outings, which drove numbers well beyond what a typical opening weekend produces.

For context, the third-place film this weekend, Crime 101, also a new release, earned ₦34.4 million total over three days. Love and New Notes made nearly that much in a single afternoon.

The gap between first and second place isn’t just wide, it’s the kind of opening that sets a benchmark for every Nollywood film releasing this year.

How important this is for Nollywood in 2026

Love and New Notes breaking the ₦100 million barrier outside December is significant. For years, Nollywood’s biggest box office moments have clustered around the Christmas and New Year period when Nigerians are on holiday and cinema visits spike naturally.

Hitting nine figures in February, without any holiday boost, shows that audience appetite for Nollywood content is growing beyond seasonal spikes.

The rest of the top 10 also shows a healthy market. Oversabi Aunty is still pulling in ₦20.5 million in its ninth weekend, with a cumulative ₦1.13 billion. Shelter and Alive Till Dawn are holding steady in their third weekends.

The market isn’t just depending on one big release, multiple films are sustaining consistent numbers.

Also read: Cinema: Behind The Scenes, Everybody Loves Jenifa, Sinners lead top 10 revenue chart in 2025

For Timini Egbuson, the opening is a major win as a producer. The actor, known for his romantic roles in several popular Nollywood projects, stepped behind the scenes to back this one, and the gamble paid off.

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