Best Nollywood Films of 2026, So Far

As a Nigerian film critic, one of the most frustrating and revealing activities you can impose on yourself, besides watching and reviewing mainstream Nollywood productions, is attempting to curate a definitive list of Nollywood’s best films and series. For years, it’s been Herculean  to get five Nollywood films worthy of inclusion on any art-and-ideas-conscious list about Nigerian cinema. The usual trick is to include dull films on the list to inflate the numbers. 

Across platforms —cinema and streaming, including YouTube– Nollywood has, in its usual fashion, released films. For me, finding more than five genuinely good Nigerian films from 2026 was almost impossible. While Nollywood’s artistic ambitions have supposedly heightened, they often don’t translate onscreen. As I argued in a recent essay, Nollywood films and Nigerian filmmakers have distracted themselves from reflecting the times. This, of course, means  that a majority of the released 2026 films are lacking in the artistic and idea department. What we are left with are hole-ridden plots, unmemorable characters, politics-bereft conversations, and poor films. This is why the list below includes only two cinema films, two YouTube productions, and one internationally released title. 

Call of My Life

If you haven’t heard of, are tempted to watch, or haven’t seen Dammy Twitch’s directorial feature debut Call of My Life, you are certainly not moved by material things, or don’t have a mobile phone. Yes, the film is everywhere. And it’s the most successful Nollywood title of 2026 yet. The box-office success doesn’t follow the traditional Nollywood trope of populating films with popular actors and influencers, releasing during festive periods, or being anchored on a boring narrative. The film, written by and starring Uzoamaka Power, writes its own rules. That the sound, cinematography, and art direction is in sync with the lead’s whimsical identity is the film’s least brilliance. Call of My Life’s strength lies in its writing and its ability to transfer a smooth explanation of its characters. 

Lady

Olive Nwosu’s directorial debut project Lady is one of those artistic, idea-conscious, and international-facing Nigerian titles. Nwosu premiered the film at the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and won the Special Jury Award for Acting Ensemble. The film’s political weight doesn’t drain its artistic merit. Although a large number of Nigerians haven’t seen it and might not watch it, courtesy of a distribution roadblock, its artistic and ideological consciousness quite sets it apart. By telling the simple but heavy story of its titular lead character, the film invites viewers to confront their quotidian economic and political reality. 

Dear Dija

Ifeoma Nkiruka Chukwuogo has, within a decade, directed two of the all-time Best Nollywood short films. In 2017, she released Bariga Sugar, and in 2026, Dear Dija. These films are united in their intimate portrayal of their characters’ interior lives. The coming-of-age short, written by Nduka Ebube Dike from a story by Eleanya Eke and Nduka Dike, situates the blossoming story of two teenagers, Nnamdi (Efosa Idahosa) and Khadija (Praise Adejo), within an ethnic and religious tensed environment. 

Tell it No More

Directed by Chukwu Martin, Tell it No More first introduced itself to a curated crowd at the 2025 The Annual Film Mischief (TAFM). Then, in May, it was introduced to a mainstream audience via a  YouTube release, and the conversations around gender expectations, marital patience, and fidelity have been endless. The film’s brilliance lies in its writing (Temiloluwa Fosudo), performance (Martha Ehinome Orhiere, Fosudo, and Wunmi Tuase-Fosudo), and cinematography (Okwong Fadamana). 

The Boy Who Gave 

When I saw Allison Precious Emmanuel’s directorial feature debut, The Boy Who Gave at AFRIFF, I wasn’t a fan of its distracting and untrustworthy writing. It’s too obvious that the writer-director-actor Emmanuel just wants the viewers to cry. The writing is perfumed with tear-inducing plots that betray the writer’s distrust of their writing. But what’s undeniable is the artistic vision that permeates the film. While the writing reeks of uncertainty, the performance, art direction, editing, and directing emit artistic assurance.