Best Nollywood Movies of 2025: The Films Worth Watching and Where to Stream Them

📌 Quick answer (checked 14 October 2026): The biggest Nollywood film of 2025 was Funke Akindele and Tunde Olaoye’s Behind the Scenes. It grossed ₦1.32 billion in calendar year 2025 (FilmOne Entertainment’s year-end ranking, reported by BusinessDay on 12 January 2026), went past ₦2 billion over its full cinema run, and has been on Netflix since 3 April 2026. The rest of FilmOne’s 2025 Nollywood top five were Gingerrr, Oversabi Aunty, Ori: The Rebirth and Reel Love. For the best critically praised film of the year, watch My Father’s Shadow, the first Nigerian film picked for Cannes’ Official Selection.

2025 was a big year for Nigerian cinema. FilmOne Entertainment’s 2025 West Africa box office scorecard, compiled from Comscore data and reported by BusinessDay on 6 January 2026, puts the region’s total box office at ₦15.6 billion. That is up from ₦11.58 billion in 2024. Nollywood took 49.4% of the market and Hollywood took 48.8%, the first time on record that local films finished ahead.

This guide looks back at 2025 now that most of those films have left cinemas. It covers the top earners using FilmOne’s official year-end figures, the critics’ favourites and awards winners, and where you can stream each film in late 2026. For the films coming this year, see our guide to the most anticipated Nollywood movies of 2026.

2025 Nigerian Box Office at a Glance

Every figure below comes from FilmOne Entertainment’s 2025 West Africa box office scorecard, as reported by BusinessDay on 6 January 2026. The scorecard covers Anglophone West Africa: Nigeria, Ghana and Liberia.

A note on the numbers: the scorecard counts ticket sales up to 31 December 2025. Films released in December, such as Behind the Scenes and Oversabi Aunty, kept earning into 2026, so their lifetime totals are higher than their 2025 figures. Going the other way, Everybody Loves Jenifa opened in December 2024 but made another ₦758.5 million in 2025. That puts it second on the overall 2025 chart, but it is a 2024 release, so it is not in our 2025 list.

The Top 10 Nollywood Films of 2025 by Box Office

This is FilmOne Entertainment’s official 2025 Nollywood ranking, published on its Instagram and reported by the News Agency of Nigeria and BusinessDay on 12 January 2026. The grosses are calendar-year 2025 takings.

The streaming column is based on the platform listings that were public in October 2026. Netflix and Kava catalogues change by country, so search the title in the app before you pay for a subscription. For everything Nigerian currently on Netflix, see our Nigerian movies on Netflix 2026 guide.

1. Behind the Scenes: The Year’s Biggest Film

Directors: Funke Akindele and Tunde Olaoye · Distributor: FilmOne · Cast includes: Scarlet Gomez, Funke Akindele, Tobi Bakre, Uzor Arukwe, Ini Dima-Okojie, Iyabo Ojo, Mr Macaroni, Destiny Etiko, Ibrahim Chatta · Stream: Netflix

Behind the Scenes opened on 12 December 2025 and finished the year with ₦1.32 billion, which put it far ahead of every other film of 2025. New Telegraph reported on 20 March 2026 that it passed ₦1 billion at the West African box office in 19 days, the fastest any Nollywood film has done so. The same report said its full cinema run brought in more than ₦2 billion. Netflix began streaming it on 3 April 2026, after FilmOne announced the date on 17 March.

Scarlet Gomez plays Aderonke, a woman who carries the money and emotional problems of everyone around her until she can’t anymore. The film is about family obligation and the pressure to keep “suffering and smiling”, and that is a big reason it connected with audiences who rarely go to the cinema. It continues Funke Akindele’s run of December hits after Battle on Buka Street, A Tribe Called Judah and Everybody Loves Jenifa. For more on her career, read our Funke Akindele biography.

Watch it if: you want the film everybody was talking about over Christmas 2025, a crowd-pleasing family drama with a big ensemble cast.

2. Gingerrr: The Heist Comedy That Ruled the Autumn

Director: Yemi Morafa · Distributor: Cinemax · Executive producers include: Bisola Aiyeola, Bolaji Ogunmola, Bukunmi “Kiekie” Adeaga-Ilori, Wumi Toriola and Ope Ajayi · Cast includes: the four producer-stars plus Timini Egbuson, Odunlade Adekola and Lateef Adedimeji

Four friends plan a heist over a box of gold, and four of Nigeria’s best-known entertainers produced the film as well as starring in it. Gingerrr opened nationwide on 26 September 2025, just before the Independence Day holiday. Nairametrics reported on 6 December 2025 that it opened to ₦82 million. FilmOne’s final 2025 figure is ₦522.9 million, which made it Nollywood’s top earner of the year until Behind the Scenes arrived.

Watch it if: you want a loud, funny group watch.

3. Oversabi Aunty: Toyin Abraham’s Billion-Naira Debut

Director: Toyin Abraham-Ajeyemi (her first film as director) · Released: December 2025

Toyin Abraham plays a meddlesome aunty who sorts out everyone’s business except her own. The film made ₦480.1 million in 2025 and kept selling tickets into the new year. On 26 January 2026, Arise News reported that FilmOne had announced a total of ₦1,017,201,953 across West African cinemas. That made Oversabi Aunty the first directorial debut in Nollywood to pass ₦1 billion.

Watch it if: you know an aunty like this, and most of us do.

4. Ori: The Rebirth: Yoruba Cinema at Blockbuster Scale

Led by: Muyiwa Ademola, who also co-produced with Adebayo Tijani and Tope Adebayo Salami · Released: 1 May 2025 · Language: Yoruba with subtitles

This follow-up to Ademola’s earlier Ori draws on the Yoruba idea of ori, a person’s inner head or destiny. Nairametrics reported on 6 December 2025 that the film earned about ₦114 million in its first week and that its reported budget was more than ₦400 million, mostly paid for by Ademola. It finished 2025 on ₦419.6 million. That makes it the year’s biggest indigenous-language Nollywood film and shows Yoruba epics can now earn at mainstream blockbuster level.

Watch it if: you like mythic, spiritual epics with serious production values.

5. Reel Love: The Valentine’s Day Hit

Director: Kayode Kasum · Producer: Timini Egbuson (his first film as producer) · Cast includes: Timini Egbuson, Atlanta Bridget Johnson, Funke Akindele, Bimbo Ademoye, Dakore Egbuson-Akande, Efa Iwara · Released: 14 February 2025

Nairametrics reported on 21 February 2025 that Reel Love made ₦99.3 million in its opening weekend, with a best single day of ₦40.5 million, and ₦123.2 million in its first seven days. It went on to hold the number-one spot for five weeks in a row and finished on ₦356.8 million. It showed that a romance released on a date other than December can still be a hit.

Watch it if: you want a polished, modern Lagos love story.

6–10: The Rest of the Top Ten

6. Iyalode (₦306 million)

Toyin Abraham’s second big film of the year is a period drama about a woman in power. It opened during the Eid el-Kabir holiday in June 2025. Nairametrics reported an opening of ₦81.54 million and three weekends in a row at the top of the chart.

7. Labake Olododo (₦264 million)

This Yoruba epic was produced by Iyabo Ojo and directed by Biodun Stephen, and it was shot in Ibadan. It opened on 28 March 2025 to ₦50 million, which Nairametrics called the second-biggest Nollywood opening of 2025 at that point. The cast includes Iyabo Ojo, Femi Adebayo, Faithia Williams, Kunle Afolayan, Mr Macaroni, Odunlade Adekola and Mercy Aigbe.

8. Owambe Thieves (₦205 million)

An Easter-season crime comedy set around Lagos party culture. It is a light, fast watch and works well as a weekend family film.

9. The Herd (₦193 million)

Daniel Etim-Effiong directed this thriller. It opened in October 2025 and reached streaming quickly, so it is one of the easiest films on this list to find on Netflix.

10. Abanisete: The Ancestor (₦164 million)

Another commercially successful Yoruba period epic. Along with Ori and Labake Olododo, it means three indigenous-language films made the 2025 top ten.

Critics’ Picks and Award Winners Beyond the Box Office

The box office chart misses some of 2025’s most important Nigerian films. These are the ones that won the major prizes:

My Father’s Shadow stars Sope Dirisu as a father who takes his two young sons around Lagos during the tense days of the 1993 election crisis. If you only watch one non-blockbuster from this list, make it this one.

What 2025 Told Us About Nollywood

• Local films won at home. Nollywood’s 49.4% share against Hollywood’s 48.8% (FilmOne scorecard, January 2026) is the headline stat of the year.
• Hits came all year, not just in December. At least seven of the top ten opened outside December, in February, March, April, May, June, September and October.
• Yoruba-language films can be blockbusters. Three indigenous-language epics made the top ten.
• Women ran the chart. The top three films were led or produced by women: Funke Akindele, the Gingerrr producing team, and Toyin Abraham.
• The gap between cinema and streaming got shorter. Behind the Scenes went from cinema to Netflix in under four months, and Kava now carries a large share of the 2025 catalogue.

How to Watch These Films in Nigeria Now

1. Netflix: search for Behind the Scenes, Gingerrr, Oversabi Aunty and The Herd. Check the current plan prices in the app, because we have not listed them here.
2. Kava: the Filmhouse-backed platform carries most of the Yoruba epics and mid-year hits, including Ori, Reel Love, Iyalode, Labake Olododo and Owambe Thieves.
3. Showmax: it is no longer an option in Nigeria. See our explainer on the Showmax Nigeria shutdown and alternatives.
4. Avoid pirated copies. Several 2025 producers, Funke Akindele among them, publicly asked fans not to share pirated copies. Legal streams are how these films earn back their budgets.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the highest-grossing Nollywood movie of 2025?

Behind the Scenes, with ₦1.32 billion in calendar year 2025 according to FilmOne’s year-end ranking. New Telegraph reported in March 2026 that its full cinema run passed ₦2 billion.

Is Behind the Scenes on Netflix?

Yes. It started streaming on Netflix on 3 April 2026.

Did any 2025 Nollywood film other than Behind the Scenes make ₦1 billion?

Yes, eventually. Oversabi Aunty passed ₦1.017 billion in January 2026, according to a FilmOne announcement reported by Arise News, although only ₦480.1 million of that was earned in 2025.

Why isn’t Everybody Loves Jenifa on this list?

It opened in December 2024. It made ₦758.5 million during 2025, but we have kept this list to films released in 2025.

Which Nigerian film went to Cannes in 2025?

My Father’s Shadow, directed by Akinola Davies Jr. It screened in Un Certain Regard and won a Special Mention for the Caméra d’Or.

Is there a best Nollywood movies of 2026 list?

The year isn’t over yet. Until it is, our most anticipated Nollywood movies of 2026 guide covers this year’s releases. For music, see our Top Afrobeats Songs and Albums of 2025 review.

Sources

1. BusinessDay, “Nigerian box office hit historic N15.6bn in 2025 as Nollywood films get more views than Hollywood for first time”, 6 January 2026
2. BusinessDay (via NAN), “‘Behind The Scenes’ tops 2025 Nollywood Box Office, hits N1.32bn”, 12 January 2026
3. Arise News, “Oversabi Aunty hits ₦1.017bn, becomes first Nollywood directorial debut to cross ₦1 billion at box office”, 26 January 2026
4. New Telegraph, “Funke Akindele’s record-breaking movie Behind the Scenes hit Netflix”, 20 March 2026
5. Nairametrics, “Top 10 highest-grossing movies in Nigerian box office 2025”, 6 December 2025

Last updated: 14 October 2026 · NaijaSabi.