6 Nigerian Cinema Hits You Can Now Enjoy From The Comfort Of Your Home

Gone are the days when only foreign movies dominated Nigerian movie theatres. These days, Nigerian movies hold their own next to their Hollywood/Bollywood counterparts and even have bigger opening weekends in some cases.

A movie like 10 Days in Sun City (now showing on Showmax), for instance, was number 1 at the box office after its release on June 17, 2017, displacing Hollywood big guns Wonder Woman and the fifth installment of Transformers.

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 rewatch them, here are six big box office releases you can now enjoy on Showmax.

1. 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, Gideon Okeke.

2. Alter Ego

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

3. 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 18 million Naira 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.

4. From Lagos With Love

From Lagos With Love is the first feature film from director Tola Odunsi, best known for 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 the same writer of hit online series Skinny Girl In Transit, Dami Elebe.

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

5. 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, Rachel Oniga.

6. Okafor’s Law

Omoni Oboli is widely regarded as the queen of Nollywood’s box office, given her string of box office hits (either as producer/director or lead actor), including Wives On Strike (also available on Showmax), Moms At War, The First Lady and of course, Okafor’s Law.

Okafor’s Law states that once a man has had a woman, he can have her again at any time. This is the premise that is tested in this movie as it tells the story of Chuks, a playboy whose friends challenge him to re-seduce and woo his ex-girlfriends within a 21-day period.

Who’s In It: Blossom Chukwujekwu, Omoni Oboli, Toyin Aimakhu, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Ufuoma McDermott, Gabriel Afolayan.