The National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) has classified and approved 304 films between January and April 2026.

This approval indicates the growing activities in Nigeria’s film industry and increased local content production, the Director, Film Censorship and Classification, Deborah Malgwi said yesterday in a statement.

Malgwi stated that the figure represented an increase from the 267 films classified during the same period in 2025.

The data showed that January 2026 recorded the highest number of film classifications with 102 approvals, followed by 83 in February, 77 in March and 42 in April.

In comparison, the board classified 25 films in January 2025, 58 in February, 114 in March and 70 in April of the same year.

A further breakdown of the language distribution revealed that English-language productions dominated the industry with 201 films. Igbo films followed with 44 productions, while Yoruba accounted for 42 films.

Hindi films stood at nine, Hausa recorded five, while Bini productions accounted for three films.

Further analysis showed that most of the productions were rated within the “15” and “18” age categories, reflecting prevailing themes in contemporary film productions.

According to the classification statistics, 10 films received “G” ratings, 16 were classified as “PG”, while 18 films fell under the “12/12A” category.

Besides, a total of 157 films received “15” ratings, while 103 films were classified as “18.”

Malgwi said the agency remained committed to promoting responsible storytelling, professionalism and the sustainable growth of the Nigerian film industry in line with national values and international best practices.

She noted that the rise in classification activities reflected the resilience and expanding capacity of Nigeria’s creative industry, especially in local content production and distribution.

She also stressed that film classification was an important regulatory mechanism aimed at protecting children and vulnerable audiences from unsuitable content, while providing viewing guidance to parents, guardians and the public.

The director further commended filmmakers, producers and other stakeholders in the industry for their continued cooperation and compliance with the Board’s regulatory framework.