The National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) has taken a major step toward deepening cultural inclusion in Nigeria’s creative industry, announcing that it recorded a strong industry activity with linguistic diversity and classification of 1,185 films in 2025, across multiple indigenous and foreign languages, while also generating over N46 million from online movies and N30 million from movies in cinemas and other platforms such as Netflix and Prime Video. NFVCB made this known in its latest operational report.

According to the yearly classification report, the films approved during the year spanned a wide range of genres and languages, reflecting both the vibrancy of local film production and the continued submission of foreign-language content for classification in Nigeria.
  
The development, which underscores the Board’s renewed focus on linguistic diversity and cultural representation, reflects the evolving landscape of Nigeria’s film and entertainment sector, particularly the growing influence of regional language productions beyond mainstream Nollywood.
  
Commenting on the report, the NFVCB reiterated its commitment to encouraging greater diversity in film production, particularly increased investment in family-friendly content and wider use of Nigeria’s indigenous languages.
 
This aligns with the Executive Director, Dr Shaibu Husseini’s ongoing emphasis on promoting cultural representation and inclusivity within the nation’s film industry. The Board, in a bid to encourage more indigenous language films, reduced the classification fees of indigenous language films outside of Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa.
  
The Board noted that while a film classification for bigger platforms costs N120,000, those for YouTube and others platforms costs N50,000. It added that while 200 movies were shown at cinemas and bigger platforms, 935 movies uploaded on YouTube and others were presented for classification.
  
Speaking with The Guardian, Husseini noted that compliance in the year under review was low. “The record is a deviation from what has been witnessed before now and further brings sanity to the system. It underscores sustained growth and activity within Nigeria’s film industry,” he said.
   
“We are not a revenue generation agency, so classification of a movie going on bigger platforms costs less than $100 and those going only costs less than $40. It’s not about the money even though it leads to revenue generation. A number of them are flouting the law by not bringing their films to the board.
    
“We will try and apply the law this year as far as online movies are concerned. We have used almost two years since I got into the office to sensitise. We will move into implementation of the aspect of our Act which states that any film produced or distributed in Nigeria must be classified and registered by NFVCB. So, we will commence implementation in March,” the Executive Director added.
  
In 2024, the Board under Husseini as CEO, classified 1,088 films, indicating a high level of industry engagement. English-language films accounted for the highest number of approvals throughout the year, reaffirming their dominance in Nigeria’s film production landscape. Yoruba and Igbo films followed, while Hausa and other indigenous Nigerian language films appeared less frequently.
 
The report noted a broader representation of indigenous languages such as Nupe, Berom, and Gbagyi particularly in September 2025, highlighting Nigeria’s cultural diversity. Foreign-language films, including those in Hindi, French, and Japanese, were also classified during the year.
  
In terms of audience classification, the report revealed a strong concentration of 15 and 18 ratings across all months, indicating that most films approved in 2025 were targeted at mature audiences. Family-friendly classifications such as G, PG, and 12A were comparatively fewer, suggesting limited production of children’s and general-audience content during the year.
  
Monthly analysis showed that May 2025 recorded the highest number of film approvals, with 173 titles classified. Overall trends for the year indicate a consistent dominance of English-language films in monthly approvals.
  
According to the Director, Corporate Affairs, NFVCB, Ogbonna Onwumere, the 2025 classification figures demonstrate the Board’s sustained momentum in Nigeria’s film sector and reaffirm its role in ensuring responsible content classification while supporting industry growth.