Netflix, an American subscription streaming service and production firm, has dominated Nigeria’s relatively new video-on-demand market since its official entry into the industry in 2020.
Netflix, a movie and TV show streaming service, has grown to become one of the world’s most popular online entertainment platforms. Netflix now has more than 151 million paid subscribers in over 190 countries.
The top 10 finest movies accessible on the streaming service are examined by BusinessDay. Some of the films were released in prior years, but Netflix only released them in 2021.
We should note that some of the films on this list were released on Netflix before the first weekly rankings, so we ranked them based on high praise from a diverse group of critic websites and social media pages, as well as the number of times they appeared in the top four rankings on the Netflix top 10 website.
Here are the 10 most rated Nigerian movies on Netflix in 2021
1. Omo Ghetto: The saga
After a theatrical release in 2020, Omo Ghetto: The Saga premiered on Netflix on September 10, 2021. The two-hour film shattered records in Nigeria’s Nollywood entertainment sector, and we understand why.
This film is a sequel to the 2010 Omo Ghetto, directed by Funke Akindele and JJC Skillz. From the initial scene of a police officer following a kid through the streets, the film displays elements of sisterhood, love, and takes us on a hilarious adventure.
The film was in the top ten most-watched movies for ten weeks in a row, a tribute to its box office success as the highest-grossing Nollywood film with over N635 million.
2. King of Boys – The return of the king
The highly anticipated King of Boys: The Return of the King was published on Friday, August 27, 2021, after great anticipation.
Sola Sobowale starred as the lead character and antagonist in the film, which was produced and directed by Kemi Adetiba and generated a lot of buzz on social media, with Sobowale appearing in a number of snippets and social media influencers doing skits mimicking her “welcome to the new dispensation.”
In the film, Sobowale is known as Eniola Salami, and she is an extremely strong and important political person who uses everything she has to murder her adversaries. She was arrested and imprisoned in the first film, which was released on October 20, 2018, but she was able to flee the country.
3. Namaste Wahala
Namaste Wahala, which translates to Hello Trouble in English, is a 2020 Nigerian cross-cultural romance comedy film produced, written, and directed by Hamisha Daryani Ahuja. Ini Dima-Okojie and Ruslaan Mumtaz play the key characters in the film.
This film has been touted as the first major collaboration between Bollywood and Nollywood, two of the world’s most powerful film industries. Despite coming from very different backgrounds and cultures, the film is about a romantic relationship between an Indian lad and a Nigerian girl.
On December 1, 2020, it had a limited theatrical premiere in Nigeria, where it received excellent reviews. The movie was released on Netflix on February 14, 2021, on Valentine’s Day, and garnered mixed reviews.
4. This lady called life
This Lady Called Life is a 2020 Nigerian romance drama directed by Kayode Kasum and written by Toluwani Obayan. Lota Chukwu, Bisola Aiyeola, and Wale Ojo play the key characters in the film.
The 120-minute film follows Aiye (Bisola Aiyeola), a young single mother who is battling to keep up with the escalating expense of life in Lagos. She works exceedingly hard to operate a little business that barely allows her to live comfortably, but not luxuriously, while she strives to become a renowned chef after being abandoned by her own family.
The film was launched in theaters on October 9, 2020, but its success spilled over into 2021 when it was published on Netflix, with top weekly views in its first week and exceptionally positive reviews from critics.
The film has won Finest Of Nollywood Awards in categories such as Movie with the Best Screenplay, Best Use of Nigerian Food, Movie with the Best Production Design, and Movie with the Best Editing, and is considered one of the best Nigerian films of 2020. It’s also up for Best Soundtrack at the 2021 Africa Movie Academy Awards.