Out of over 100 Nollywood films reviewed by NollyCritic in 2025, only a fraction truly stood out. These films didn’t rely on excess dialogue, emotional over-instruction, or rushed resolutions. Instead, they trusted character, tone, and silence. They understood that storytelling is not about saying everything — it’s about saying the right things.
This is NollyCritic’s definitive list of the 20 Best Nollywood Movies of 2025 — films that rose above the noise and pointed toward a more confident industry.
20. Grandpa Must Obey
Directed by Chibuzor Afurobi, Grandpa Must Obey is a warm, PG-rated family comedy that clocks in just under one hour and a few more minutes. Kanayo O. Kanayo stars as Akachi, a grieving, stubborn 70-year-old widower who has turned to the bottle since losing his wife Helen (Elvina Ibru).
Grandpa Must Obey understands that the best family films don’t need constant gags to keep you engaged. It trusts quiet moments, real emotions, and the natural warmth of good actors doing good work. By the time the credits roll, you feel lighter, a little teary, and genuinely hopeful, exactly the way a Christmas movie should leave you. This gentle gem stands out because it aims for the heart and actually hits it.
19. Landline
In Landline, a stranded military sergeant receives eerie calls from an old landline, each guiding him to save his pregnant wife from a relentless killer, only to watch her die again and again in a nightmarish loop.
Landline tells a gripping story with a strong three-actor cast. While it stands out as one of the best loop films we’ve seen from Nollywood with strong performances, and polished visuals, it leaves us with several unanswered questions.
Rating: 3.5/5
18. Shaping Us
Kambili Ofili’s directorial debut, Shaping Us, may not have made a big splash when it was released earlier this year, but it’s certainly worth your attention.
Shaping Us explores the complexities of motherhood—both the longing for it and the emotional toll it can take—while also shining a light on love, friendship, and forgiveness. It’s a patient, heartfelt film that trusts its characters and trusts the audience to sit with discomfort long enough to find the meaning behind it.
Rating: 3.5/5
17. Red Circle
Red Circle enters with conviction. Directed by Akay Mason and penned by Abdul Tijani-Ahmed, the film positions itself as a socially aware crime thriller laced with commentary on privilege, class, ambition, and the fragility of justice.
A visual feast with moments of intrigue, powered by solid performances and a strong directorial vision.
Rating: 3.5/5
16. My Mother is a Witch
My Mother is a Witch is deeply moving. It’s a film about broken relationships, the limits of parental sacrifice, and the dangers of silence. It asks viewers to consider what love looks like when it’s expressed in flawed, misunderstood ways.
A heartfelt meditation on misunderstood love, and generational pain. A tender and culturally grounded drama that reminds us the scariest legacies are the ones we inherit in silence.
Rating: 3.5/5
15. Love Lockdown
Few films capture the unpredictable nature of love quite like Love Lockdown. Set against the backdrop of a global crisis, the film explores how external forces can reignite past emotions, complicating the certainty of present commitments.
A thought-provoking drama with strong performances, Love Lockdown delivers an engaging exploration of love under unexpected circumstances even if it misses the opportunity to create a truly immersive emotional experience.
Rating: 3.5/5
14. The Fire and the Moth
Taiwo Egunjobi’s fourth feature arrives with calm authority. If A Green Fever folded its tension within four walls, The Fire and The Moth extends that pressure across a border town, open yet tightening.
The Fire and The Moth delivers a deeply layered meditation on greed, history, and the calm ruin of those who refuse to turn away. The story asks for attention, not affection. What it gives in return is sharp, slow, and lasting.
Rating: 3.75/5
13. The Herd
Nigerian actor Daniel Etim-Effiong makes his big-screen directorial debut with The Herd. The feature premiered worldwide in 2025 at the Marché du Film segment of the Cannes Film Festival. And was released across cinemas nationwide on October 17, 2025.
The Herd feels like a call to action, but sadly, only time can tell if it will bear fruit of possible change in our system. Although it struggles under its wings to tell it all, it still delivers a great story for all.
Rating: 3.75/5
12. Hakeem – Seeking Justice
Abdulrasheed Bello returns to the big screen after his co-producer role on She Must Be Obeyed in 2023 and Director role in Omo Ghetto (2020). Hakeem – Seeking Justice, gives hope for the re-emergence of Nollywood’s action genre. It hits a very timely and disturbing occurrence without drifting away from the conventions that tie up the targeted genre.
Hakeem – Seeking Justice is a strong addition to Nollywood’s action library. It proves that the industry is capable of learning from its missteps and delivering engaging, high-stakes storytelling. While it nails the action, it stumbles slightly in its dramatic depth.
Rating: 3.8/5
11. Atiko
Biodun Stephen’s Atiko is a poignant exploration of sacrifice, destiny, and the complexities of generational love, anchored by strong performances and a deeply emotional core. The film excels in immersing the audience in its themes of cultural spirituality and the cost of rewriting fate, with moments that linger long after the credits roll.
It is a heartfelt, thought-provoking drama that resonates through its emotional sincerity. Atiko succeeds in delivering a compelling tale that will leave audiences reflecting on its messages of love, sacrifice, and the burden of destiny.
Rating: 3.85/5
10. Radio Voice
Radio Voice, directed by Isioma Osaje opens with a promise: that silence, no matter how deep, can be broken. Set within the charged atmosphere of a struggling radio station, the film builds its drama not through sensationalism, but through humanity.
With standout performances, a focused script, and direction that values restraint over spectacle, it tells a story that lingers. It is a film that knows exactly what it wants to say and says it with clarity
Rating: 3.9/5
9. The Serpent’s Gift
Kayode Kasum once again proves that good storytelling isn’t determined by tribal knowledge or personal knowledge alone. But rather a willingness to learn, evolve and of course an aligned team.
Set against the backdrop of the Igbo culture, ancestral heritage, and the unspoken laws on death and family. Centered on the traditional rituals that occur when a man dies in what’s regarded as a mysterious way. The movie surrounds the theme of love, betrayal, family feud, deception, culture and inheritance.
Rating: 4/5
8. Aso Ebi Diaries
What initially looks like a flashy lace-and-Ankara fest becomes something far more grounded: a rich, carefully told story about female friendship, personal identity, heartbreak, healing, and the cultural weight of belonging.
Directed by Biodun Stephen in what may be her most balanced and emotionally coherent work to date, the film strips back the noise and lets the characters, and their humanity, shine.
Rating: 4/5
7. Makemation
Makemation enters Nollywood with ambition, not just in scope but in meaning. Framed as Africa’s first AI-themed feature film, it could have easily settled for the novelty of that claim. But instead, it chooses to centre something much deeper: a 17-year-old girl, poverty-stricken and overlooked, refusing to be silenced by her circumstances.
In a story shaped by gender discrimination, digital inequality, and quiet resilience, the film is not simply shouting about technology. It is asking what kind of future becomes possible when young girls, and not only them, are given the tools to imagine one
Rating: 4/5
6. Something About the Briggs
In Something About The Briggs, marriage isn’t just about love, it’s about survival, adaptation, and the burden of expectations. The film dives into the complexities of family, faith, and commitment, questioning whether love alone is enough to hold a relationship together. But does it truly capture the weight of these themes, or does it fall into familiar storytelling patterns?
omething About The Briggs succeeds in delivering a thought-provoking yet entertaining experience. It offers a fresh take on familiar themes, engaging its audience with both its storytelling and its emotional resonance. Whether through its faith-driven undercurrents or its commentary on love and marriage, it leaves viewers with something to discuss long after the credits roll.
Rating: 4/5
5. The Masked King
The Masked King reflects a world shaped by inherited customs and enforced loyalty. It opens up a story of duty, resistance, and the weight of culture, showing a people pushed to choose between survival and truth.
The Masked King positions itself at the intersection of history, belief, and consequence. It confronts the viewer with uncomfortable truths about how societies preserve power through tradition, and how those same traditions often mask violence. It goes beyond being a film just for a story.
Rating: 4/5
4. Freedom Way
Directed by Afolabi Olalekan in his feature debut, the film presents a tightly woven story about nine individuals caught in the chaos of Lagos and the consequences of unjust laws. At the center of the story are Tayo and Themba, two tech entrepreneurs who launch a ride-share app for motorcyclists. But in typical fashion, things in Nigeria shift quickly. A sudden motorcycle ban threatens to wipe out their company overnight — not due to bad decisions, but due to erratic government policies that benefit the wealthy and hurt everyday citizens.
More than just a film, it’s an experience. One that leaves a lasting impression and reminds viewers of the power of storytelling in shaping identity and inspiring change. For anyone seeking a meaningful time at the cinema, Freedom Way is essential viewing. And beyond the screen, it serves as a quiet yet stirring call for us all to continue striving, in our own ways, toward the freedom and nation we deserve.
Rating: 4.05/5
3. Over The Bridge
Over The Bridge draws viewers into a Lagos banker’s unraveling life, blending psychological tension with corporate intrigue. Directed by Tolu Ajayi in his narrative feature debut, the film centres on Folarin (Ozzy Agu), a high-flying investment banker whose dream rail project unravels amid financial scandals and ethical compromises. As pressure mounts from his boss and a controversial $16 million shortfall, Folarin’s personal life crumbles, culminating in a disappearance that lands him in a remote fishing village, grappling with amnesia and redemption.
Over The Bridge rewards patient viewers who savour introspective thrillers, its subtext and imagery delivering intellectual satisfaction. It suits film fans willing to unpack corporate jargon and slow burns for thematic depth.
Rating: 4.05/5
2. Blackout
Entering Blackout with no prior knowledge, no logline, no setup, just the film itself was the best decision. And what a shock that was. The kind of shock that reminds you why cinema exists. The experience was raw, gripping, and, most importantly, unpredictable.
Blackout owns its space.
This is not just a film to watch. It is a film to experience. And it belongs on the big screen, best seen in a cinema where its power is undeniable. And then, perhaps, revisited again. Because some films deserve to be seen more than once.
Rating: 4.2/5
1. My Father’s Shadow
My Father’s Shadow unfolds as a poignant Nigerian drama, glimpsing a father’s world through his sons’ innocent eyes amid 1993 Lagos turmoil. Directed by Akinola Davies Jr in his feature debut, the film follows brothers Remi (11) and Akin (8), played by Godwin Chiemerie Egbo and Chibuike Marvellous Egbo, on a rare day trip with their father Fola (Sope Dirisu), chasing unpaid wages during a petrol shortage.
My Father’s Shadow rewards viewers who cherish introspective dramas, its subtext and atmosphere offering emotional depth. It suits film fans ready to unpack memory’s layers and political hints. It’s Cannes premiere deserves its acclaim, a haunting watch worth the immersion
Rating: 4.4/5
Which film captured your heart? Which one do you think deserved a higher spot?
Let’s know in the comments section.
You can download our 2025 full review list here.
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