Femi Adebayo’s Seven doors dominate Best of Nollywood awards 2025

The Best of Nollywood (BON) Awards has officially unveiled its 2025 nominees, celebrating excellence, creativity, and innovation across Nigeria’s thriving film industry.

Held on Monday in Victoria Island, Lagos, the event brought together top Nollywood filmmakers, actors, producers, and industry stakeholders to honour the outstanding works that have shaped Nigerian cinema over the past year.

BON Awards 2025: A Celebration of Nollywood’s Evolution

This year’s edition features 25 categories, including a newly introduced “Best Series” category, reflecting Nollywood’s growing embrace of serialised storytelling , a trend that has captivated both local and international audiences through streaming platforms.

The unveiling ceremony, attended by top stars and producers, showcased Nollywood’s impressive growth, creative resilience, and continued global relevance.

Top Nominees: Seven Doors and Abanisete Lead the Pack

Leading the 2025 BON nominations are Seven Doors and Abanisete, with nine and eight nominations respectively. These two blockbuster productions dominate major categories such as Best Director, Best Actor, and Movie of the Year.

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They are closely followed by Farmer’s Bride and My Mother Is a Witch, both of which earned multiple nominations across creative and technical categories, cementing their positions as audience favourites.

Major Categories and Nominees

Best Actor

• Ibrahim Yekini (Abanisete)
• Gideon Okeke (Blackout)
• Femi Adebayo (Seven Doors)
• Razaq Adoti (Son of the Soil)
• Tobi Bakre (Farmer’s Bride)
• Jide Awobona (Inspector Jero)

Best Actress

• Folu Storms (Red Circle)
• Gbubemi Ejeye (Farmer’s Bride)
• Padita Agu (Blackout)
• Efe Irele (My Mother Is a Witch)
• Chioma Chukwuka (Seven Doors)
• Florence Nwachukwu (Fury)

Best Director

• Niyi Akinmolayan (My Mother Is a Witch)
• Adebayo Tijani & Tope Adebayo (Abanisete)
• Adebayo Tijani & Jack’enneth Opukeme (Farmer’s Bride)
• Tope Adebayo & Adebayo Tijani (Her Excellency)
• Toka McBaror (The Waiter)
• Adebayo Tijani, Tope Adebayo & Femi Adebayo (Seven Doors)

Movie of the Year

• Abanisete
• My Mother Is a Witch
• Farmer’s Bride
• The Waiter
• Her Excellency
• The Serpent’s Gift

Introducing the “Best Series” Category

For the first time in BON history, the Best Series category has been added to recognise Nollywood’s growing appetite for serialised content. The nominees are:

• The Party
• Seven Doors

This new category underlines the industry’s shift towards episodic storytelling, which has found new life on streaming platforms such as Netflix, Showmax, and YouTube.

Other Notable Nominations

Best Supporting Actor

• Stan Nze (The Serpent’s Gift)
• Femi Branch (Owambe Thieves)
• Adedimeji Lateef (Red Circle)
• Buchi Franklin (The Waiter)
• Taye Arimoro (Son of the Soil)
• Neo Akpofure (My Mother Is a Witch)

Best Supporting Actress

• Mercy Aigbe (My Mother Is a Witch, Farmer’s Bride)
• Bolaji Ogunmola (Longing)
• Tina Mba (The Serpent’s Gift)
• Susan Jimah (Take My Breath Away)
• Kehinde Bankole (Iyalode)

Best Social Message

• Out in the Darkness
• My Mother Is a Witch
• Fury
• Longing
• Mayomi
• Blackout
• Single Mother

These films explore pressing social issues such as gender equality, mental health, and justice — hallmarks of Nollywood’s evolving storytelling depth.

Technical Excellence Recognised

BON 2025 also celebrates behind-the-scenes mastery with nominations for:

• Best Cinematography: My Mother Is a Witch, Abanisete, Agemo, Seven Doors, The Serpent’s Gift, Finding Nina
• Best Screenplay: Thinline, Ewu Ife, Owambe Thieves, Fixing Others, The Serpent’s Gift, Blackout, Agemo
• Best Production Design: Seven Doors, Labake Olododo, Abanisete, Iyalode, Farmer’s Bride
• Best Costume: Owambe Thieves, Abanisete, Iyalode, Labake Olododo, Seven Doors, Olomi, The Serpent’s Gift
• Best Makeup: The Waiter, Seven Doors, Iyalode, Abanisete, Labake Olododo

Recognising New and Young Talent

Rising stars were also honoured through the Most Promising Actor and Most Promising Actress categories.
Nominees include Razaaq Adoti, Yomi Orimadegun, Dolapo Oyebamiji, Lila Idoko, and Sunshine Rosman, signalling a bright future for the next generation of Nollywood talent.

BON 2025: A Night to Remember

The Best of Nollywood Awards 2025 will take place on December 14 in Lagos, and will feature a Guinness World Record attempt for the longest red carpet in history, adding a global dimension to the celebration of Nigerian cinema.

With groundbreaking films, fresh talent, and innovative storytelling, the BON Awards continue to showcase the creativity that defines Nollywood’s place as Africa’s leading film industry.