By JOY ADARA, Abuja-
Best of Nollywood (BON) Awards has released its 2025 nomination list, unveiling contenders across 25 competitive categories, including a newly introduced “Best Series” category that celebrates Nollywood’s growing embrace of serialized storytelling.
The unveiling ceremony, held on Monday in Lagos, brought together top filmmakers, actors, and stakeholders to honor outstanding achievements in the Nigerian movie industry over the past year.
Leading the nominations this year are “Seven Doors” and “Abanisete”, securing nine and eight nods respectively. Both films dominate major categories such as Best Director, Best Actor, and Movie of the Year.
They are closely trailed by “Farmer’s Bride” and “My Mother Is a Witch,” which earned multiple nominations across both technical and creative categories.
*Top acting categories*
For Best Actor, the nominees include Ibrahim Yekini (Abanisete), Gideon Okeke (Blackout), Femi Adebayo (Seven Doors), Razaq Adoti (Son of the Soil), Tobi Bakre (Farmer’s Bride), and Jide Awobona (Inspector Jero).
In the Best Actress category, the competition features Folu Storms (Red Circle), Gbubemi Ejeye (Farmer’s Bride), Padita Agu (Blackout), Efe Irele (My Mother Is a Witch), Chioma Chukwuka (Seven Doors), and Florence Nwachukwu (Fury).
The popular Best Kiss category includes romantic pairings such as Tobi Bakre and Gbubemi Ejeye (Farmer’s Bride), Timini Egbuson and TJ Omusuku (Reel Love), and Padita Agu with Demola Adedoyin (Planning Forever).
*Directing, production, and new categories*
For Best Director, the nominees include:
Niyi Akinmolayan (My Mother Is a Witch)
Adebayo Tijani and Tope Adebayo (Abanisete)
Adebayo Tijani and Jack’enneth Opukeme (Farmer’s Bride)
Tope Adebayo and Adebayo Tijani (Her Excellency)
Toka McBaror (The Waiter)
Adebayo Tijani, Tope Adebayo, and Femi Adebayo (Seven Doors)
The Movie of the Year category features Abanisete, My Mother Is a Witch, Farmer’s Bride, The Waiter, Her Excellency, and The Serpent’s Gift, each applauded for exceptional storytelling and production quality.
In a significant milestone, the Best Series category debuts this year, with “The Party” and “Seven Doors” leading nominations — a reflection of Nollywood’s evolution toward long-form narrative production.
*Other major categories*
Nominees for Best Supporting Actor include Stan Nze (The Serpent’s Gift), Femi Branch (Owambe Thieves), Adedimeji Lateef (Red Circle), Buchi Franklin (The Waiter), Taye Arimoro (Son of the Soil), and Neo Akpofure (My Mother Is a Witch).
For Best Supporting Actress, the nominees are Mercy Aigbe (for both My Mother Is a Witch and Farmer’s Bride), Bolaji Ogunmola (Longing), Tina Mba (The Serpent’s Gift), Susan Jimah (Take My Breath Away), and Kehinde Bankole (Iyalode).
The Best Social Message category celebrates impactful stories with nominations for Out in the Darkness, My Mother Is a Witch, Fury, Longing, Mayomi, Blackout, and Single Mother, each tackling themes of justice, empathy, and human resilience.
In design and technical achievement, Seven Doors, Abanisete, and Iyalode stand out with nominations for Best Costume, Best Makeup, and Best Production Design, reflecting exceptional attention to visual detail.
Other key categories include Best Sound, Best Soundtrack, Best Cinematography, and Best Screenplay, featuring strong competition among some of Nollywood’s most innovative filmmakers.
*Special recognition and event details*
The BON Awards 2025 will take place on December 14 in Lagos, promising a night of glamour, celebration, and recognition for excellence in Nigerian cinema.
Organizers also revealed that the event will attempt to set a Guinness World Record for the Longest Red Carpet, adding a historic flair to this year’s edition.