Nigerian filmmaker Nora Awolowo has etched her name in Nollywood history by becoming the youngest producer to surpass ₦100 million at the box office with her debut feature film, Red Circle.
Premiering on June 6, Red Circle hit the milestone within just three weeks of release, amassing ₦101.8 million by the end of its third week.
The film made a stunning debut, earning ₦33.8 million in its opening weekend and rising to ₦74.5 million by the second week. It is now one of the highest-grossing Nollywood films of 2025.
Directed by Akay Mason and written by Abdul Tijani-Ahmed, Red Circle is a joint effort between Nora’s Rixel Studios and Tijani-Ahmed. The thriller follows Fikayo Holloway, an investigative journalist (played by Folu Storms) whose pursuit of justice plunges her into a deadly web of corruption and organized crime.
The cast includes some of Nollywood’s biggest names, such as Bukky Wright, Lateef Adedimeji, Timini Egbuson, Tobi Bakre, Femi Branch, Omowunmi Dada, Mr Macaroni, and rapper Ruggedman.
Speaking on the film’s success, Moses Babatope of FilmOne Entertainment, the distributor of Red Circle, said:
“This film is a testament to the value of supporting new voices. Nora brought a clear vision and proved that audiences respond to bold storytelling.”
Born and raised in Lagos, 26-year-old Nora Awolowo studied Accounting at Ekiti State University before launching a photography career and later transitioning into documentary and feature filmmaking. Her work has earned critical acclaim and industry awards, and she’s become a rising star among Nigeria’s new generation of creatives.
In interviews, Nora has spoken candidly about the challenges of working in Nollywood—from logistics to inadequate infrastructure—and has called on the government to invest in film villages, sound stages, and studio spaces.
“Nigerian filmmakers are doing well with the little they have,” she said. “Imagine what we’d do with more.”
Currently, Red Circle is on an international screening tour, with premieres already held in Birmingham, Streatham, Manchester, and Greenwich, and plans underway for a North American release.
Nora Awolowo’s trailblazing achievement is being widely celebrated, not just for the numbers but for what it symbolizes—a new era of fearless storytelling led by young, visionary Nigerian filmmakers.
