Another December rushes toward us with the predictable rhythms of Nigerian life: preparations for Detty December, security concerns that never quite resolve, fresh graduates strategizing to delay NYSC postings, Hollywood celebrities attempting pidgin with varying degrees of success. And in the film industry, one tradition holds steady: Funke Akindele and Toyin Abraham each release a new December film.
Last year, I chronicled Nollywood’s year-end showdown between Akindele, Abraham, and Jade Osiberu. Akindele won before the opening weekend tallies came in, as she always does, but the battle proved compelling. Osiberu’s A Christmas in Lagos offered tantalizing visuals wrapped in Lagos’ chaos, while Akindele and Abraham leaned into the comfort of established franchises with Everybody Loves Jenifa and Alakada: Bad and Boujee.
This December 2025 brings four films worth tracking, each helmed by filmmakers operating at different registers of ambition and craft. Interestingly, these films are spread across December, a choice that suggests the filmmakers have learned from previous years’ bloodbaths, where simultaneous openings cannibalized each other’s audiences. Here they are:
Behind the Scenes
Funke Akindele’s Behind the Scenes arrives first on the list, announced in her signature style, a flood of promotional videos featuring actors in color-coordinated t-shirts emblazoned with the film’s title. One video features Jarvis, the AI TikTok personality who’s become as famous for controversies as for her digital existence. The actual cast reads like a roll call of everyone who’s dominated Nollywood conversations this year: Iyabo Ojo, Tobi Bakre, Ibrahim Chatta, Dele Odule, Uche Montana, Uzor Arukwe. Akindele has always understood two things intuitively: how to tell a story that connects, and exactly which faces will sell it.
From the promotional material, the film appears to explore what happens when cameras stop rolling, the machinery and chaos that exists in the margins of filmmaking. The trailer and official synopsis remain under wraps, a strategic move that only heightens anticipation. Speaking at the FilmOne Exhibitors’ showcase in mid-October, Akindele revealed she’d initially planned a sequel to A Tribe Called Judah but pivoted to this instead.
Behind the Scenes opens in cinemas on December 12. The question hovering over its release isn’t whether it will succeed, but whether Akindele will break her own box office record. Again.
Oversabi Aunty
Toyin Abraham arrives with another comedy, as expected. This time, a family drama centered on a troublesome aunty, that archetype familiar to anyone who’s survived Nigerian family gatherings. What makes this different is that Oversabi Aunty marks Abraham’s directorial debut on the big screen, a significant shift from her previous work as an actress and producer.
The film appears to navigate the cultural minefield of an inter-ethnic Nigerian family, bringing together Yoruba and Igbo traditions in what promises to be either a thoughtful exploration of cultural dynamics or, more likely given Abraham’s comedic instincts, a collision course of clashing expectations and exaggerated family politics. The cast reflects this bicultural setup: Tana Adelana, Jemima Osunde, and Efe Irele alongside Mike Ezuruonye and Ngozi Ezeonu, veterans who understand how to mine comedy from cultural specificity.
Abraham has built her career on understanding her audience’s appetite for relatable family chaos, and the “oversabi aunty”—the know-it-all relative who inserts herself into everyone’s business with catastrophic results—is a character type that practically writes itself. It’s yet to be seen whether Abraham’s directorial vision will elevate the familiar premise beyond broad comedy, or if she’ll lean into what’s worked before: loud, colorful, emotionally uncomplicated entertainment that fills seats regardless of critical reception. Given her track record, she’s likely banking on the latter. It’s set to be in the cinema on December 19.
Colours of Fire
Niyi Akinmolayan left audiences buzzing at the screening of the Colours of Fire teaser, a fantasy drama that marks a notable departure from his recent work. The film features Osas Ighodaro, Uzor Arukwe, Gabriel Afolayan, Mercy Aigbe, and Ibrahim Chatta in a story about two rivals whose affair upends an empire.
Akinmolayan has spent much of 2025 investing in children’s and fantasy storytelling through Anthill Studios, developing animation workshops and short film showcases. Colours of Fire feels like the culmination of this creative trajectory, a filmmaker who’s been building expertise in genre work now attempting something more ambitious and visually expansive. Barnabas “Barny” Emordi, the cinematographer behind House of Secrets, brings his visual sensibility to the project, a collaboration between Anthill Studios, FilmOne Studios, and Imuetinyan Productions.
His previous two December releases—Palava! (Inkblot, 2022) and Chief Daddy (EbonyLife, 2018)—were projects helmed for other major studios. Colours of Fire, opening in cinemas on Christmas Eve, represents something different: Akinmolayan working within his own creative infrastructure, making a film that doesn’t have to cater to established franchise expectations or studio-mandated formulas. Whether audiences accustomed to his comedic work will embrace this tonal shift remains one of December’s most intriguing questions.
This Is Not A Nollywood Movie
Arriving December 5th, before the blockbuster season reaches its fever pitch, is Wale Ojo’s action comedy This Is Not A Nollywood Movie. The title itself is a provocation, a self-aware wink at industry conventions and audience expectations. Produced by Boma Akpore, the film assembles a cast that spans Nollywood generations, veterans like Hanks Anuku and Julius Agwu sharing screen time with Blossom Chukwujekwu, Bimbo Akintola, Olumide Oworu, and Chidi Mokeme.
The meta-textual title, combined with the deliberate mixing of Nollywood eras, hints at something potentially more ambitious than standard genre fare, perhaps a film that comments on the industry even as it entertains within it.
Releasing early in the month positions This Is Not A Nollywood Movie as either strategic counter-programming or a warm-up act for the heavyweight battles ahead. Whether it can carve out space for itself before Akindele and Abraham dominate the conversation, and whether its self-referential posture will resonate with audiences looking for straightforward December entertainment, will determine if opening early proves clever or costly.
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