If your weekend plans are looking a little thin, Nollywood has handed you a full watchlist. Between new cinema releases, a Netflix crime series, and a veteran director’s long-awaited return to the big screen, there is genuinely something for every kind of mood this weekend. Here are six films worth your time:
1. A Mama Deola Wedding Story
Folagade Banks takes her beloved Mama Deola character from comedy skits to the big screen, and the result is exactly as chaotic and warm as you would hope. The story follows Demilola and Femi’s wedding, where family drama and a colourful cast of wedding guests threaten to derail the celebration entirely. Directed by Femi Adebayo and led by Omowunmi Dada and Rotimi Salami, with Shaffy Bello, Bukky Wright, Iya Rainbow, and Erica Nlewedim rounding out the cast, it is streaming now on Kava.
2. Invitation to Kill
Directed by Chuks “Big Tiger” Obaze, this thriller follows Julian, an agro-businessman and devoted father who is forced to rebuild his life after his business fails and his marriage falls apart, caught between love, betrayal, and the pull toward redemption. Kalu Ikeagwu leads the cast. It opens in cinemas across Nigeria and Ghana on September 11.
3. Ordinary People
Moses Inwang’s eight-episode thriller is set inside the guarded gates of Lagos’s upscale Mirage Estate. As old secrets resurface and new dangers reach the estate from outside, residents turn on each other, trading favours, alibis, and loyalty to protect themselves. The cast includes Ramsey Nouah, Chidi Mokeme, Adunni Ade, Michelle Dede, Sharon Ooja, and Jackie Appiah, and it is streaming globally on Netflix.
4. 19
This one is a sober, gripping look at the roots of cybercrime in Nigeria, following Ndubuisi Madueke’s rise in the early days of tech driven crime and the reckoning that eventually catches up with him. Written and directed by Tola Odunsi, with Ademola Adedoyin, Stan Nze, Bisola Aiyeola, and Sola Sobowale among the cast, it opens in cinemas nationwide.
5. One Gidi Night
Lagos after dark gets the neo noir treatment in this tense thriller about one desperate night that pushes a good man toward impossible choices. James Abinibi writes, directs, and produces, with Gabriel Afolayan, Uzor Arukwe, Wumi Toriola, and Idia Aisien leading a strong cast. It opens in cinemas nationwide tomorrow, September 11, just in time for the weekend, distributed by FilmOne Entertainment.
6. Properties of the Gods
After an eight-year break from the director’s chair, Joseph Okechukwu returns with a historical drama that digs into the Igbo Osu caste system, following a forbidden romance that forces one family to choose between inherited tradition and each other. It is a heavyweight cast to match the subject matter, with Pete Edochie, Enyinna Nwigwe, Zack Orji, Hilda Dokubo, and Elvina Ibru leading, alongside the late Onyeka Onwenu in one of her final screen performances. It is in cinemas nationwide right now.
Whichever way your weekend goes, from a quiet night in to an actual cinema outing, there is a film on this list built for it. Save this one for later, because you will want it again next weekend too.
