The 5 Best Nollywood Films of 2025 So far

2024 ended with the rumor of Netflix discontinuing its activities in the Nigerian film market. Films and series weren’t given worldwide distribution. Prime Video had early in 2024 announced restraining its funding and commissioning of projects in the African and Middle East market. Thus, 2025 started with lots of energy-draining and exhausting private and public conversations about finding solutions to distribution challenges. In this explorative mindset, filmmakers casually touted YouTube as the solution to Nigerian film industry distribution challenges. The volatile and unprecedented success of Omoni Oboli’s Love in Every Word gave certain producers confidence in YouTube. 

As all these industry-important but somewhat exhaustive conversations were going on, the quality of cinematic output keeps receding. There has been an almost all-inclusive allergy for writing, editing, directing, acting and producing films that can withstand the storm of years. Nollywood writers are somewhat averse to producing well-written characters and stories, directors are considerably lacking in directorial vision and style, editors are too inertia induced to care about selecting and cutting emotional scenes, actors aren’t enthused to give career-defining performances and producers and executive producers prefer safe and formulaic filmmaking pattern. This has resulted in the odd films that have populated Nigerian cinemas, debuted on Netflix and Prime Video. There’s a general lethargy and this curated list is proof. 

For this list, the focus is strictly on Nollywood feature-length films widely accessible on streaming platforms (Netflix, Prime and Showmax), Nigerian Cinema and available to film critics. Additionally, strict cinematic qualities are the guiding metrics for the selection of titles not popularity. 

In no particular order, here are the best Nollywood films of 2025 so far. 

Landline

Dele Doherty‘s Landline quietly landed on Prime Video. The one-location timeloop film centers the story of three characters stuck in a loop. In concise and metaphorical details, the film interrogates political, security and bureaucratic issues in Nigerian society. Doherty’s film skillfully pays homage to the End Sars Protest. In a review of the film, Culture Custodian writer has described the director as an avant garde artist. “Together with other minimalist approaches in characterization, setting, and plot, Doherty positions himself as an avant-gardist.” Reliant on Western influences and style, the  filmmaker boldly domesticated these supposedly foreign concepts in a distinctively Nigerian story. And, therein lies the bold and indie drive of the filmmaker and the film. 

Radio Voice 

Isioma Osaje’s Radio Voice is narratively frugal in that the film does not try to create an unearned backstory for some of its inconsequential characters. The script doesn’t attempt to deceive us into believing these minor characters have a mighty role. Also, in a film industry that frustratingly pits female characters against each other, it’s admirable that even when it subtly teases it, the film doesn’t make the uneducated decision of building an enmity between the female characters. Rather, the film is devoted to their shared interest and collective effort toward reviving each other’s stories and career path. 

The Fire and The Moth

Taiwo Egunjobi’s The Fire and The Moth retains distinct filmmaking patterns that can be found in previous work of the director. Shot in Ibadan, the film is made in partnership with his recurring partners: Isaac Ayodeji, the screenwriter and Okwong Fadama, the cinematographer. The film highlights the brutal nature of survival, greed and corruption, and consequences for one’s actions while centering the stolen priceless Ife Bronze Head. Culture Custodian’s writer reviewed the film: “Whereas many crime thrillers are known for their rabid, high-octane drama, Egunjobi opts for draggy, nuanced intensity in The Fire and The Moth. While doing so, he creates a metaphoric pipeline between old and new ways: he pays homage to history through the Ife Bronze Head reference, and  maintains ties with the contemporary world through reflections on issues such as crime and police brutality in the Nigerian society.”

Katangari Goes To Town

Reuben Reng’s Katangari Goes To Town is the first Nollywood film to hit Prime Video this year, as it began streaming from January 4th. Set in Northern Nigeria, the whodunnit drama stars Segun Arinze as Katangari, a retired police inspector who becomes a vigilante that specializes in apprehending local criminals. Following the death of his cousin Chief Gyang, an affluent businessman, Katangari is summoned from his humble abode in Plateau to Abuja in order to solve the murder case. The film presents a noble template for the whodunnit genre, one that appears to be rooted  in Hollywood traditions,  but it also highlights relatable themes such as martial conflicts, trust and integrity, and the dynamics of family relations. An Afrocritik review notes that “as the story delves deeper into the characters’ lives, the plot thickens, keeping viewers glued to their screens and guessing who the real killer is—especially as every known suspect appears to be innocent.” The narrative consistency and embellishments of the film are further corroborated by Segun Arinze’s meticulous executions of his lead role.

Over the Bridge 

Tolu Ajayi’s Over the Bridge is one of the all-time most beautifully shot Nigerian films. Shot by KC Obiajulu, the film isn’t visual pleading solely for its stalker-like attention to beautiful objects but its pedantic approach to accentuating significant plot details. Written by Tosin Otudeko, Over The Bridge slowly paces around the story of a morally conflicted man leading operations  at Exegis Capital Management Company. Ajayi’s directing brings a knowing understanding to highlighting corporate, institutional and political corruption in Nigeria.