Nigerian blockbuster, “A Soldier’s Story 2- Return from the Dead” has become the first Nollywood film to be distributed by a major American studio.

“A Soldier’s Story 2- Return from the Dead” is a sequel to the award-winning film, “A Soldier’s Story”. Starring Academy Awards Nominated Hollywood Actor- Eric Roberts, the film which was shot in Nigeria also stares Nigerian Actors Daniel K Daniel, Somekele Idalamah, Linda Ejiofor, Tope Tedela and a host of other household names. It was produced by Martin Gbados and directed by award-winning director, Frankie Ogar.

Lionsgate through their affiliate, Strawberry Fields Entertainment, believes that Nollywood is a major playing industry in the film space and this deal only goes to confirm it.

The CEO of Strawberry Fields Entertainment, Jamie Webber, says that the company will also fund the franchise next film with budgets in the $5 million range.

According to the distribution agent, Strawberry fields is poised to make in-roads to Africa. “We are happy to begin this journey with such a powerful movie,” he said.

“A Soldier’s Story II: Return From The Dead” is a tale of two nations, Nigeria and Watz Republic, a fictional country on the west coast of Africa, and the thin line between love, hope and survival in the face of corruption.

With a very intentional plot, “A soldier’s story II: Return from the Dead” will take the audience on an adrenaline pumped emotional rollercoaster as it highlights the issues in the world- terrorism, emigration, rape, civil rights, international trade and relations.

After many delays over the course of a year and a half, “F9” opened to a mighty $70 million from 4,179 North American venues. That’s by far the biggest start for a movie at the U.S. box office since the onset of the pandemic.

The big-screen homage to hulking men, speedy cars and gravity-defying stunts is giving some much-needed momentum to the movie theater business, which has been struggling to rebound as audiences begin to feel comfortable returning to their local multiplex. “F9” is the latest blockbuster-hopeful to set a new box office benchmark. Prior to this weekend, Paramount’s “A Quiet Place Part II” held the opening weekend with $48.3 million in inaugural ticket sales.

“F9” wasn’t expected to reach the opening weekend heights of its franchise predecessors because attendance hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels and the Canadian box office, which accounts for part of North American revenues, is still almost entirely shut down. In terms of “Fast” series launches, “F9” has a slight edge on the 2019 spinoff “Hobbs & Shaw,” which generated $60 million and ended its theatrical run with $173 million in the U.S. and $759 million globally. The previous film in the core series was 2017’s “The Fate of the Furious,” which opened to $98 million and ultimately grossed $226 million in North America and $1.2 billion worldwide. The 2015 entry “Furious 7” marked a franchise high, posting a huge $147.2 million in its first three days of release, on its way to $353 million at the domestic box office and $1.5 billion globally.

A painting by Pablo Picasso that was stolen nine years ago during a heist at a Greek gallery has been recovered.

On Monday, police in Athens said Picasso’s Woman’s Head had been found along with a 1905 painting of a windmill by Dutch artist Piet Mondrian.

Both were taken, along with a third artwork, during an elaborate 2012 heist at the Athens National Gallery.

The artworks were stripped from their frames in the early morning raid which only took minutes to carry out.

The Reuters news agency, citing an anonymous police official, reported that a Greek man has been arrested after the art was found hidden at a gorge on the outskirts of the city.

Monday’s announcement came just months after it was reported that Greek police still believed the artwork was in the country.

The Picasso painting, a portrait of a woman in his signature cubist style, was given to the National Gallery by the artist himself back in 1949. He said the gift, painted a decade earlier, was in recognition of the country’s resistance to Nazi Germany.

A second Mondrian painting was left at the scene during the heist after thieves dropped it while making their escape.

Officials are expected to hold a press conference about the art recovery on Tuesday.