Six Nollywood blockbusters worth seeing this season

Gone are the days when only foreign movies dominated Nigerian movie theatres.

Today, Nigerian movies hold their own next to their Hollywood and Bollywood counterparts and even have bigger opening weekends in many instances.

For instance, comedian Ay’s ‘10 Days in Sun City’ was number one at the box office after its release.

In its opening week at the Nigerian cinemas, the film displaced Hollywood hits like ‘Wonder Woman’ and the fifth installment of ‘Transformers’.

Two years after, 10 Days in Sun City and several other Nollywood films continue to top online subscription video site, Showmax.

But with so many Nollywood cinema releases, there’s always the tendency to miss out on some.

If this is the case for you, or perhaps you’d just like to re-watch them, here are six big box office releases worth seeing this festive season

93 Days

The movie tells the story of the deadly Ebola outbreak in Nigeria and the heroic efforts by health workers to stop the spread of the virus.

It earned the highest number of nominations at the 2017 Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress awards, and won the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards (AMVCA) for Best Lighting Designer.

Bimbo Akintola who played Dr Stella Adadevoh also won the 2016 Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) award for Best Actress.

Who’s in it? Hollywood star Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon, Death at a Funeral), Bimbo Akintola, Somkele Iyamah, Bimbo Manuel, Charles Okafor, and Gideon Okeke.

Alter Ego

Nollywood fans will recall that Alter Ego was the movie which saw the return of Omotola Jalade Ekeinde to the silver screen after a three-year hiatus.

The movie tells the story of Adaora Igwe, a successful lawyer by day with a nymphomaniac alter ego, which sees her engage in sexual relations with both her domestic and professional staff.

In spite of her personal challenges, she dedicated a great part of her professional life to prosecuting sex offenders but things take an interesting turn after her encounter with a billionaire philanthropist.

The movie earned her several awards, including the 2017 Best Actress award at The Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival, Nollywood Travel Film Festival, Best of Nollywood (BON) Awards and 2018 Africa Magic Viewer’s Choice Awards (AMVCA) respectively.

Who’s in it? Omotola Jalade Ekeinde, Wale Ojo, Jide Kosoko, Emem Inwang.

Banana Island Ghost

Banana Island Ghost marked comedienne, Chigul’s first feature film appearance.

The movie tells the story of Ijeoma, a desperate Banana Island resident in search of N18 million to keep her father’s house from being foreclosed by the bank.

In her quest, she encounters a ghost who has been granted three extra days on earth from God to find and woo his soulmate. The movie won the 2018 Tony Elumelu AMAA Award for Best Comedy.

Who’s In It? Chioma Omeruah (Chigul), Patrick Diabuah, Bimbo Manuel, Saidi Balogun, Uche Jombo, Ali Nuhu, Dorcas Shola Fapson.

From Lagos With Love

From ‘Lagos with Love’ is the first feature film from director Tola Odunsi, best known for the hit online series, ‘The Men’s Club’. A family holiday turns out to be a hotbed of drama following the engagement of the youngest daughter.

The movie was written by Dami Elebe, the same writer of hit online series ‘Skinny Girl in Transit’.

Who’s In It: Shaffy Bello, Bimbo Manuel, Damilola Adegbite, Sharon Ooja, Enado Odigie and Daniel Etim Effiong.

My Wife and I

Toyosi and Ebere have a turbulent marriage, but everything changes when they wake up in each other’s bodies following a visit to a pastor.

The movie saw the reunion of Ramsey Nouah and Omoni Oboli as a screen couple, 10 years after their on-screen romance in The Figurine.

Who’s In It? Ramsey Nouah, Omoni Oboli, Jemima Osunde, Ngozi Nwosu and Rachel Oniga.

Okafor’s Law

Okafor’s Law, is based on the infamous Okafor’s ‘law’ which says that once a man has slept with a woman, he can do so at any other time regardless of changes in circumstances.

So, three friends or three ‘Chukses’, Chuks a.k.a Terminator (Blossom Chukwujekwu), Chuks a.k.a Fox (Ken Erics) and Chuks a.k.a Baptist (Gabriel Afolayan) proceed to test the veracity of Okafor’s ‘law’.

Expectedly, Chuks ‘the Terminator’ is the one pushing this theory.

He enters into a bet, which includes losing shares in his family’s company, with the other two Chuks. He’s that confident that in 21 days he can have sex with three of his exes: Ejiro (Omoni Oboli), Tomi (Toyin Aimakhu), and Ify (Ufuoma McDermott). Not even the fact that his friends will choose which exes can deter him.

Who’s in it? Omoni Oboli, Toyin Abraham, Ufuoma McDermott, Gabriel Afolayan and Blossom Chukwujekwu.